Kentucky will not have player in NBA Finals for 1st time since 2018

On3 imageby:Zack Geoghegan05/31/22

ZGeogheganKSR

For the first time in four years, the NBA Finals will be without a former Wildcat.

The 2022 NBA Finals will feature the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors, with Game 1 set for Thursday, June 2 at 9:00 p.m. EST on ABC. Neither franchise currently rosters a Kentucky player, ending a three-year streak for the program. UK had plenty of chances to keep the streak rolling in 2021-22, but neither Devin Booker’s Phoenix Suns nor Bam Adebayo’s and Tyler Herro’s Miami Heat made it out of their respective conferences this year.

The Suns were knocked out of the second round by the Dallas Mavericks, which went on to lose the Western Conference Finals to the Warriors. The Heat nearly made the Finals for the second time in three years on Sunday night but dropped a thrilling Game 7 to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Elsewhere, Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers lost in round two to the Heat.

During the 2021 Finals, Booker made his first championship series appearance before the Suns ultimately fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. Adebayo and Herro made their first trip to the Finals in the 2020 bubble season but also lost, this one coming at the hands of Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers. The 2019 Finals didn’t showcase a Wildcat star like a Booker or Adebayo or Davis, but Jodie Meeks was on the champion Toronto Raptors and appeared in 14 playoff games. DeMarcus Cousins was also an important factor in that Finals series for the Golden State Warriors, playing in all six games including three starts.

The 2018 Finals between the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers was the last time a former Wildcat didn’t play in the title series. In the 2017 Finals, DeAndre Liggins was a member of that Cavaliers team, which lost to the Warriors, throughout the majority of the regular season, but he was waived shortly before the postseason.

We can even count Warriors’ bench player Damion Lee if we’re looking for more KY connections. Lee played his final college year at Louisville during the 2015-16 season.

While this year’s Finals will be without a one-time Kentucky player, there will still be a Bluegrass State connection. Lexington native Luke Kornet is a member of the Celtics, albeit as an end-of-the-bench player. Vanderbilt’s all-time leading shot-blocker, the 7-foot-2 Kornet played 12 regular-season games for Boston this season, plus roughly 13 total minutes of action during the postseason across six outings.

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2024-03-28