Wildcats Top 5 NBA Regular Season Headlines.
Lots of Pacers making Arizona fans proud.
The NBA playoffs are once again chalked full of former Wildcats, but before we watch them make a run at the Larry O’Brien Trophy, let’s look back at the 2022-23 NBA regular season and count down the Top 5 headlines involving former Arizona players now playing ball in the Association.
Gabe York makes it back to the NBA.
York has been putting up great offensive numbers for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants the past two seasons and this year he was selected to play in the NBA G League Next Up Game during All-Star Weekend.
On March 30 the Indiana Pacers signed York to a two-way contract. It was the second time Indiana brought York in to finish a season.
He played in three NBA games this year and had a career-high nine points against New York on April 5. He was 3 for 6 from behind the arc vs. the Knickerbockers.
T.J. McConnell Triple Double.
On January 21 in Phoenix, McConnell recorded a triple-double just up the road from where he played his college ball.
McConnell took advantage of getting his first start of the season by dropping 18 points, dishing 12 assists, and grabbing 10 rebounds.
It was the second triple-double of his NBA career.
Ayton re-signs with the Suns.
It appeared DeAndre Ayton was on his way to play in Indiana with Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell when he signed a 4-year, $133 million offer sheet in July of last year. Then the Suns stepped in and opted to match the offer, continuing Ayton’s career in the desert.
The Phoenix strategy of originally not offering Ayton a contract extension saved them nearly $50 million with his restricted free-agent status.
In Ayton’s first five seasons with the Suns, he has averaged a double-double including his 18 points and 10 rebounds per game this past season.
Mathurin has a big rookie season in Indy.
Mathurin saved Arizona last year against TCU and it looks like he might be able to do the same for the Indiana Pacers in the coming seasons.
He had a phenomenal 2022-23 rookie season in which he averaged 16.7 ppg. At Arizona his sophomore year he averaged 17.7 ppg.
Mathurin became the first rookie to score over 1,000 points off the bench in nearly two decades.
Markkanen starts in the NBA All-Star Game.
Lauri Markkanen was selected for his first NBA All-Star Game and became the fourth player in Arizona history to be given that honor. He was given the starting nod in his home of Salt Lake City and became the second Wildcat to ever start in an All-Star Game. Gilbert Arenas was the first to do it in 2007.
In 25 minutes Markkanen scored the bulk of his 13 points on a vast array of above-the-rim dunks.
During the season he became the first player in NBA history to have 200 3-pointers and 100 dunks in a single season.
He also had a career-high 49 points against the Rockets on January 5.