Seven former IU basketball stars played the game at the highest level during the 2022-23 NBA season.
Below we summarize their performance with NBA stats and notes for the season and provide a brief update on each player.
Five of the seven will continue on to the NBA Playoffs, which began on Tuesday.
(The regular season concluded on April 9)
Victor Oladipo – Miami
After a successful stint in Indiana that saw him make back-to-back All-Star appearances in 2017-18 and 2018-19, Oladipo had some major injuries that set him back.
He then played 20 games for the Houston Rockets in 2020-21 before eventually finishing the season and finding a home with the Miami Heat.
Now in his third season with the Heat organization, Oladipo should be a key off the bench come playoff time.
Last season, he averaged 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 24.5 minutes per game during the Heat’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
This year, the Heat are currently 44-38 overall and are the seven seed in the Eastern Conference. Part of the NBA’s play-in process, the Heat lost their playoff opener and play on Friday facing elimination.
2022-23 Stats:
Games/Games Started – 42/2
MPG – 26.3
Points – 10.7
Rebounds – 3.0
Assists – 3.5
Blocks – 0.3
Steals – 1.4
FG% – .397
3FG% – .330
FT% – .747
Eric Gordon – Los Angeles Clippers
Eric Gordon, who was in his seventh season with the Houston Rockets in 2022-23, was dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers at the trade deadline.
In 22 games played with 11 starts for the Clippers, the 34-year-old Gordon is averaging 11.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 24.9 minutes per game.
In his 15th season in the league, Gordon is now 20th all-time in NBA history with 1,878 made three-pointers.
At 44-38, the Clippers are the five seed in the Western Conference and will face the fourth seed Phoenix Suns in the first round.
It is Gordon’s sixth appearance in the NBA playoffs and his first since 2019-20.
2022-23 Stats:
Games/Games Started – 69/58
MPG – 28.5
Points – 12.4
Rebounds – 1.9
Assists – 2.7
Blocks – 0.4
Steals – 0.6
FG% – .446
3FG% – .371
FT% – .821
OG Anunoby – Toronto
Coming off a strong 2021-22 season where he averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 36.0 minutes per game, Anunoby continues to be a focal point for the Raptors.
A defensive star, he led the NBA in steals and will likely be named to the league’s all-defensive team.
He is third on the team in minutes per game, 35.6, and fourth in scoring at 16.8.
Now in his sixth year in the NBA, all with Toronto, the 25-year-old Anunoby’s strong play on both ends of the floor will have to continue if the Raptors want to make a run in the postseason.
At 41-41, Toronto is the nine seed in the Eastern Conference and will play the 10 seed Chicago Bulls Wednesday night at 7:00 PM EST on ESPN in a Play-In game.
2022-23 Stats:
Games/Games Started – 67/67
MPG – 35.6
Points – 16.8
Rebounds – 5.0
Assists – 2.0
Blocks – 0.7 (Ties Career High)
Steals – 1.9 (Career High)
FG% – .476
3FG% – .387
FT% – .838 (Career High)
Thomas Bryant – Denver
Following the 2020-21 season in which Bryant suffered a torn ACL to his left knee and only played 10 games, last year was about coming back from rehab and getting into the flow of playing an actual NBA game.
Move to this season with the Lakers and Bryant was playing solid basketball. In 21.4 minutes per game, he was averaging 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists on 65.4 percent from the field.
However, similar to Gordon, he was dealt at the trade deadline and is now a member of the Denver Nuggets.
While not having as substantial of a role as he did when on the Lakers, the 25-year-old Bryant is averaging 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game with the Nuggets.
Denver is the No. 1 seed in the West for the playoffs.
2022-23 Stats:
Games/Games Started – 59/26
MPG – 18.3
Points – 9.8
Rebounds – 5.7
Assists – 0.5
Blocks – 0.5
Steals – 0.3
FG% – .623
3FG% – .441 (Career High)
FT% – .738
Cody Zeller – Miami
After playing the first eight seasons of his career in Charlotte, Zeller became a member of the Portland Trail Blazers last season.
He played in 27 games, averaging 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in just over 13 minutes per contest before being waived in early February.
However, Zeller was reunited with former IU teammate Victor Oladipo when he signed a deal with the Miami Heat.
In a role that primarily sees him come off the bench, the 30-year-old Zeller is averaging 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game. He could be an important part of the second unit during the postseason.
2022-23 Stats:
Games/Games Started – 15/2
MPG – 14.5
Points – 6.5
Rebounds – 4.3
Assists – 0.7
Blocks – 0.3
Steals – 0.2
FG% – .627 (Career High)
3FG% – .000
FT% – .686
Romeo Langford – San Antonio
Langford was dealt midseason a year ago from Boston to the San Antonio Spurs.
In his fourth NBA season, the 23-year-old Langford posted career highs in a lot of areas while also making 21 starts. But injuries continued to limit his progress.
The Spurs finished last overall in the West.
2022-23 Stats:
Games/Games Started – 43/21
MPG – 19.6 (Career High)
Points – 6.9 (Career High)
Rebounds – 2.7 (Career High)
Assists – 1.2 (Career High)
Blocks – 0.3
Steals – 0.6 (Career High)
FG% – .467 (Career High)
3FG% – .262
FT% – .696
Noah Vonleh – Boston
After a playing in China a year ago, Vonleh opened this season with Boston but was waived during the year.
The 27-year-old Vonleh has only played in 34 NBA games over the last four seasons.
2022-23 Stats:
Games/Games Started – 23/1
MPG – 7.4
Points – 1.1
Rebounds – 2.1
Assists – 0.3
Blocks – 0.3
Steals – 0.1
FG% – .458
3FG% – .250
FT% – 100
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