Seven former IU basketball players saw minutes in the NBA this season.
Three of them are with teams in the 2023 NBA Finals.
The Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets will begin a seven-game series this week. Former Indiana center Cody Zeller and guard Victor Oladipo are with the Heat, while center Thomas Bryant is with the Nuggets.
How much they play remains to be seen.
Oladipo is certain to not play at all after suffering a season-ending knee injury a month ago. He averaged 10.7 points in 42 games for Miami before the injury.
It is at least conceivable that Zeller and Bryant could be matched up against each other in the Finals, as both serve as backup big men for their respective teams.
But neither Zeller or Bryant have had big roles this season.
Zeller played in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals and averaged 2.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per contest. Those numbers were similar to his production during the regular season. His career was revived when Miami signed him in February after he had been out of the league for a year.
Bryant did not play at all for the Nuggets during their playoffs run to the Finals. He averaged 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game for Denver after a midseason trade from the Lakers.
Previously only 12 former IU basketball players had reached the NBA Finals coming into this season, with Juwan Morgan the last a year ago with Boston. That total now jumps to 15. It’s the first time there have been multiple former IU players in the Finals.
The last former player to win an NBA title was OG Anunoby in 2019. That obviously will change in June.
Game One of the Finals tips Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern in Denver.
Here is the complete list of former Hoosier players who have appeared in the NBA Finals:
(NBA Champions in bold)
- 2023 – Thomas Bryant (Denver), Cody Zeller (Miami), Victor Oladipo (Miami)
- 2022 – Juwan Morgan (Boston)
- 2019 – OG Anunoby (Toronto)
- 1990 – Isiah Thomas (Detroit)
- 1989 – Isiah Thomas (Detroit)
- 1988 – Isiah Thomas (Detroit)
- 1985 – Quinn Buckner (Boston)
- 1984 – Quinn Buckner (Boston)
- 1977 – George McGinnis (Philadelphia)*
- 1976 – Dick Van Arsdale (Phoenix)
- 1974 – Steve Downing (Boston)
- 1974 – Jon McGlocklin (Milwaukee)
- 1971 – Jon McGlocklin (Milwaukee)
- 1963 – Ron Horn (Los Angeles)
- 1959 – Bobby “Slick” Leonard (Minneapolis)
- 1955 – Dick Farley (Syracuse)
- 1950 – Herm Schaefer (Minneapolis)
- 1949 – Herm Schaefer (Minneapolis)
*McGinnis also won ABA titles with Indiana in 1972 and 1973.
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