There is now a 100 percent chance that at least one former Duke basketball talent reaches the NBA Finals this year.
In terms of former players on the active rosters of the four teams remaining in the NBA Playoffs, Duke basketball leads all college programs with four as Conference Finals action gets underway this week.Jayson Tatum, a 2016-17 Blue Devil one-and-done, is the only Duke product in the Eastern Conference Finals. That said, the five-time All-Star is the premier NBA Blue Devil and has arguably the best shot at capturing the Larry O'Brien Trophy this go-round.
He and the top-seeded Boston Celtics host the No. 6 Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their series at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.As for the Western Conference Finals between the No. 3 seed Minnesota Timberwolves and No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks, tipping off in Minnesota at 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, there's a mix of contribution levels among the three former Blue Devils on tap.
Minnesota wing Wendell Moore Jr., now in his second season with the Timberwolves since coming off the board No. 26 overall at the 2022 NBA Draft following his three seasons in Durham, typically only sees minutes in lopsided affairs.Meanwhile, 2010-11 Duke basketball one-and-done guard Kyrie Irving, a former No. 1 overall draft pick, eight-time All-Star, and 2016 NBA champion , is a full-time starter and co-star alongside Mavericks sensation Luka Doncic.
Then there's Dallas rookie and newly minted All-Rookie Second Team selection Dereck Lively II, a lottery pick last summer following his one-and-done Blue Devil campaign.Although the 7-footer is not the Mavericks' starting center, his minutes are on the rise. And for good reason, as Lively posted a remarkable plus-minus of +71 across the Mavericks' series win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a six-game battle with a combined 636-636 score.
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