Sports
UCLA Well-Represented in 2023 NBA Playoffs – UCLA – UCLA Athletics
Men’s Basketball
The UCLA men’s basketball program has 10 former players who have helped their respective NBA organizations advance to the upcoming NBA postseason, which starts with various play-in games on Tuesday, April 11.
While 10 teams from each of the Western and Eastern Conferences have qualified for postseason action, two teams from each conference will be eliminated in a series of play-in contests on Tuesday and Wednesday. The bracketed portion of the NBA playoffs will get underway on Saturday, April 15.
Eight NBA playoff-bound teams have a total of 10 former UCLA men’s basketball players on their rosters. Those former UCLA players include Kyle Anderson (Minnesota Timberwolves), Lonzo Ball (Chicago Bulls), Aaron Holiday (Atlanta Hawks), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Kevon Looney (Golden State Warriors), Kevin Love (Miami Heat), Norman Powell (Los Angeles Clippers), Peyton Watson (Denver Nuggets) and Russell Westbrook (Los Angeles Clippers).
In all, the UCLA men’s basketball program had 12 former players on NBA rosters during the 2022-23 season. Former players on teams not advancing to postseason competition include Moses Brown (played for the Clippers before being acquired by the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets) and Johnny Juzang (played for the Utah Jazz).
Four former UCLA standouts averaged at least 10 points per game during the NBA’s 2022-23 season. Zach LaVine led that group with 24.8 points per game (77 contests) with Chicago. LaVine led all former UCLA players in minutes per game (35.9), as he shot 48.5 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point range.
Jrue Holiday (19.3 ppg), Norman Powell (17.0 ppg) and Russell Westbrook (15.9 ppg) rounded out that group of four former UCLA players.
With 10 players headed to postseason play, five of those players compete on teams who have bypassed the NBA’s play-in games. Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee) and Peyton Watson (Denver) are on teams seeded No. 1 in their respective conferences – Milwaukee as the No. 1 seed in the East, and Denver as the top seed in the West.
Powell and Westbrook have helped guide the Clippers to the No. 5 seed in the West. Looney played in all 82 games for the No. 6-seeded Golden State Warriors (Western Conference).
Bruins in the Play-In Contests
Tuesday, April 11
Aaron Holiday, Atlanta Hawks (No. 8-seed, East)
Kevin Love, Miami Heat (No. 7-seed, East)
Kyle Anderson, Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 8-seed, West)
Wednesday, April 12
Lonzo Ball (injured), Chicago Bulls (No. 10-seed, East)
Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls (No. 10-seed, East)
Postseason-Bound Bruins
Kyle Anderson – Minnesota Timberwolves
Anderson, now in his ninth NBA season, has averaged 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and a career-best 4.9 rebounds through 69 regular-season games with Minnesota. Anderson spent two seasons at UCLA (2012-13 and 2013-14). This season, he shot 50.9 percent from the field and 41.0 percent from beyond the 3-point line. Minnesota has compiled an overall record of 42-40 and will face the Los Angeles Lakers in a play-in contest on Tuesday night. The winner of that game will advance to the bracketed portion of the playoffs and will take on No. 2-seed Memphis.
Lonzo Ball – Chicago Bulls
Ball did not play during the 2022-23 season due to a left knee injury. Chicago finished the regular season with a 40-42 record, securing the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls must win play-in games on Wednesday and Friday in order to advance into the bracketed portion of the playoffs.
Aaron Holiday – Atlanta Hawks
Holiday averaged 3.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 63 games with Atlanta. He shot 41.8 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from beyond the 3-point line. Now in his fifth NBA season, Holiday helped Atlanta secure an overall record of 41-41. The Atlanta Hawks enter the play-in portion of the postseason as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, and will take on No. 7-seed Miami on Tuesday. The winning team will advance to take on No. 2-seed Boston in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Jrue Holiday – Milwaukee Bucks
Holiday averaged 19.3 points, a career-best 5.1 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 67 games for Milwaukee. Now in his 14th NBA season, Holiday helped the Milwaukee Bucks secure the No. 1 seed in the East. He shot 47.9 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from beyond the 3-point line this season. Milwaukee will open its playoff schedule against the No. 8-seeded team in the East on Sunday, April 16.
Zach LaVine – Chicago Bulls
LaVine averaged 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 77 games with Chicago during the 2022-23 season. Now in his ninth NBA season (and his sixth with Chicago), LaVine shot 48.5 percent overall and 37.5 percent from 3-point territory. He has averaged at least 20 points per game in the past five NBA seasons. The Bulls concluded their regular-season schedule with a 40-42 record, securing the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. Chicago must win play-in games this Wednesday and Friday in order to advance into the bracketed portion of the playoffs.
Kevon Looney – Golden State Warriors
Looney was one of 10 players in the entire league to have competed in all 82 games during the NBA’s 2022-23 regular season. Now in his eighth NBA season (all with Golden State), Looney averaged career highs in most major statistical categories, including points (7.0 ppg), rebounds (9.3 rpg), assists (2.5 apg) and minutes played (23.9). He registered 14 double-doubles and shot a career-best 63.0 percent from the field. The Warriors have earned the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and will open against No. 3-seed Sacramento in a first-round series starting on Saturday evening.
Kevin Love – Miami Heat
Love averaged 8.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 62 games this season, playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat. He was traded mid-season to Miami, a team that has secured the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and will take on Atlanta in a play-in game on Tuesday. The Miami Heat went 44-38 overall and could advance into a first-round series against the No. 2-seed Boston Celtics. Love, now in his 15th NBA season, shot 38.9 percent from the field and 33.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
Norman Powell – Los Angeles Clippers
Powell averaged 17.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 60 games for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2022-23. A former four-year standout with the Bruins from 2012-15, Powell shot 47.9 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from 3-point range. He helped the Clippers compile an overall record of 44-38, notching the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. The Clippers will open their NBA playoff path at No. 4-seed Phoenix on Sunday, April 16.
Peyton Watson – Denver Nuggets
Watson averaged 3.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 23 games for the Denver Nuggets during his rookie season. The 6-foot-7 guard from Long Beach, Calif., shot 49.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent (6-for-14) from beyond the 3-point line. Denver finished the regular season with a 53-29 overall record, securing the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets will open the NBA playoffs at home against the West’s No. 8 seed on Sunday, April 16.
Russell Westbrook – Los Angeles Clippers
Westbrook averaged 15.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists in 73 games in 2022-23, competing for both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. A two-year player for the Bruins in 2006-07 and 2007-08, Westbrook shot 43.6 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from 3-point range this season. He played 21 of his 73 games with the Clippers, who have finished the regular season with a 44-38 overall record. The Clippers have secured the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and will open against No. 4-seed Phoenix on Sunday, April 16.
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