These Former University Of Kentucky Basketball Players Are Excelling In The NBA Playoffs

John Calipari signed a contract in June 2019 with total guaranteed compensation of $86 million and the assurance that he would end his career as Kentucky’s men’s basketball coach. At that time, he had held the job since March 2009 and built a powerhouse program.

Since signing that deal, Kentucky has won only one NCAA tournament game, and some have questioned whether Calipari can get back to his earlier success. For instance, the Wildcats made four Final Fours in five years from 2011 to 2015, including winning the 2012 national title. But they have not made the Final Four since then.

Still, Calipari’s legacy can be seen in the NBA, where 15 players he coached at Kentucky are competing in the playoffs. In all, 34 Kentucky players who played for Calipari have been first round NBA draft picks

Below is a look at the eight former Kentucky players (in alphabetical order) who averaged at least 20 points per game during this NBA regular season and are now competing in the playoffs.

The other seven ex-Wildcats in the playoffs are Los Angeles Clippers forward Brandon Boston Jr., Los Angeles Lakers forward Wenyen Gabriel, Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, Sacramento Kings forward Trey Lyles and Kings guard Malik Monk.

Of the 15, Gabriel and Quickley are the only two to have more than one year of college experience. Both played two years, while the remaining 13 left Kentucky after their freshman seasons. Meanwhile, Gabriel (undrafted in 2018) and Vanderbilt (second round in 2018) are the only two players who were not first round picks.

Bam Adebayo – Miami Heat forward

Adebayo was a starter who averaged 13 points per game (third on the team) and a team-high 8 rebounds per game in his lone season at Kentucky in 2016-17. The Wildcats won the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament titles and were the No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament’s South regional. They lost to No. 1 seed North Carolina, 75-73, in the regional final.

The Heat selected Adebayo with the No. 14 selection in the 2017 draft, and he’s been even better than expected. Adebayo is third in win shares per 48 minutes (.168) and box plus/minus among all players selected in 2017, and he’s started for the past four seasons.

This season, Adebayo averaged a career-high 20.4 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game during the regular season. He’s averaging 17.3 points and 7 rebounds per game in the No. 8 seed Heat’s first round series over the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat are leading two games to one heading into Monday night’s Game 4 in Miami.

Devin Booker – Phoenix Suns guard

Booker was a reserve on Kentucky’s 2014-15 team that won its first 38 games before losing, 71-64, to Wisconsin in the Final Four. The Wildcats were ranked first in the Associated Press’s preseason poll and remained in that spot all season, but they failed to become the first undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976.

The Suns selected Booker with the 13th pick in the 2015 draft. Booker has been a full-time starter since his second NBA season and averaged at least 22 points per game in each season, including a career-high 27.8 points this season.

During the No. 4 Suns’ first round series against the No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers, Booker is averaging a league-high 34.8 points per game. Phoenix is ahead three games to one heading into Tuesday night’s Game 4 at home.

Anthony Davis – Los Angeles Lakers forward

Davis had one of the best freshman seasons in college basketball history, leading Kentucky to the 2012 NCAA championship and winning the national player of the year and Final Four most outstanding player awards.

The then-New Orleans Hornets selected Davis with the top pick in the 2012 draft, and he’s been an impact player ever since. New Orleans traded Davis to the Lakers in July 2019 in a blockbuster deal, and he helped the Lakers win the 2020 NBA title in his first season.

When healthy, Davis remains one of the league’s dominant players, averaging 25.9 points and 12.5 rebounds in 56 regular season games. Davis is averaging 22 points, 12.7 rebounds and five blocks in the Lakers’ first round series against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers are ahead two games to one heading into Monday night’s Game 4 in Los Angeles.

De’Aaron Fox – Sacramento Kings guard

Fox was a starter on Kentucky’s 2016-17 team that featured three other players now in the NBA playoffs: Adebayo, Monk and Gabriel. Fox averaged 16.7 points and a team-high 4.6 assists per game.

The Kings chose Fox with the fifth overall selection in the 2017 draft. During Fox’s first five seasons in Sacramento, he put up some big numbers, but the Kings lost most of their games and failed to make the playoffs.

This season, Fox made his first All-Star Game, averaged 25 points and 6.1 assists per game and helped the Kings advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. On Sunday afternoon, Fox scored a game-high 38 points, but the No. 3 seed Kings lost, 126-125, to the No. 6 seed Golden State Warriors as Harrison Barnes missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The series is tied two games apiece heading into Wednesday night’s Game 5 in Sacramento.

Tyrese Maxey – Philadelphia 76ers guard

Maxey averaged 14 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in his lone season at Kentucky, which was cut short in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. When the season was cancelled before the NCAA tournament, the Wildcats were 25-6, ranked eighth in the Associated Press poll and had won nine of their last 10 games.

The 76ers selected Maxey with the No. 21 pick in the 2020 draft and brought him along slowly as a rookie when he played 15.3 minutes and averaged eight points per game. Maxey cracked the starting lineup last season and averaged 17.5 points per game, but the 76ers lost to the Miami Heat in the second round of the playoffs.

Maxey played in only 60 regular season games this season as he recovered from a foot fracture, but he averaged a career-high 20.3 points per game. During the 76ers’ four-game first round series sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, Maxey averaged 21.8 points. Philadelphia, the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed, faces the Boston Celtics or Atlanta Hawks in the second round.

Jamal Murray – Denver Nuggets guard

Murray, a native of Ontario, Canada, was Kentucky’s leading scorer in his lone college season, averaging 20 points per game in 2015-16. That season, Kentucky won the SEC’s regular season and tournament titles. The Wildcats were the No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament’s East region, but they lost to No. 5 seed Indiana, 73-67, in the second round.

The Nuggets picked Murray seventh in the 2016 draft. He was a reserve as a rookie, but he has started since his second season. Murray had a breakthrough in the 2020 playoffs, averaging 26.5 points per game in 19 postseason games as the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Lakers in five games.

In April 2021, Murray tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He didn’t play in another game until the start of this season, when he averaged 20 points and a career-high 6.2 assists in 65 regular season games, all starts. On Sunday night, Murray had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the No. 1 seed Nuggets’ 114-108 overtime loss to the No. 8 seed Minnesota Timberwolves. But the Nuggets are still up three games to one heading into Wednesday night’s Game 5 in Denver.

Julius Randle – New York Knicks forward

Randle led Kentucky with 15 points and 10.4 rebounds per game during the 2013-14 season. The Wildcats were ranked first in the AP preseason poll, but they had a disappointing regular season and entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the Midwest region. Kentucky then won five consecutive games before losing to Connecticut, 60-54, in the national championship game.

The Lakers selected Randle seventh in the 2014 draft. He sustained a broken right tibia in the 2014-15 season opener and missed the remainder of the season. Randle was healthy for the next four seasons, but he signed with New Orleans in 2018 as a free agent. He played there for one season before signing with the Knicks.

Since arriving in New York, Randle has had a career resurgence. During this regular season, he averaged a career-high 25.1 points and 10 rebounds per game as the Knicks clinched the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. On Sunday, Randle had just seven points and made 3 of 10 field goals, but the Knicks defeated the No. 5 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, 102-93, to take a three games to one lead heading into Wednesday night’s Game 5 in Cleveland.

Karl-Anthony Towns – Minnesota Timberwolves center

Towns averaged 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game on the loaded 2014-2015 Kentucky team that went 38-0 before losing to Wisconsin in the Final Four. He was mostly used in the post in his lone college season, but he’s shown his outside shooting ability and perimeter skills since entering the NBA.

The Timberwolves selected Towns first overall in the 2015 draft, making him the third Kentucky player selected first in the past six drafts, joining John Wall (2010) and Davis (2012). Towns has been a starter since his rookie season and made three All-Star games.

This season, Towns played in just 29 regular season games due to a calf strain and averaged 20.8 points per game, his lowest since his rookie season. On Sunday night, Towns had 17 points and 11 rebounds and fouled out with 2:56 remaining in overtime, but the No. 8 seed Timberwolves defeated the No. 1 seed Denver Nuggets, 114-108, to keep their season alive. The Timberwolves trail the first round series three games to one heading into Wednesday night’s Game 5 in Denver. Minnesota has not won a playoff series since Towns arrived eight years ago.