Kentucky Wildcats News

Tuesday Headlines: Return of NBA Edition

Four former Wildcats will play in tonight’s season opener.

By John Morgan Francis@MonJorgan Oct 24, 2023, 6:40am EDT

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NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets

If you’re not a huge NBA fan, you may be surprised to hear that the 2023-2024 season officially begins tonight. Of course, there’s been quite a distraction with the World Series approaching and the NFL already a third of the way through their regular season.

Tonight is significant in many ways, with one being several former Kentucky Wildcats will be featured in the doubleheader. First, the reigning NBA Champion Denver Nuggets will host the Los Angeles Lakers. That game will feature Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt with LA, while Jamal Murray will receive his championship ring with his Nuggets teammates.

In the second game, the Golden State Warriors will host Devin Booker and the partially reconstructed Phoenix Suns after their postseason run was put to a halt this past summer.

After departing from Kentucky earlier this spring, Cason Wallace (Oklahoma City Thunder), Chris Livingston (Milwaukee Bucks), Jacob Toppin (New York Knicks), and Oscar Tshiebwe (Indiana Pacers) will all be part of their respective teams as the season begins.

Wednesday’s slate of games will feature a total of 19 former Wildcats across nine games.

Immanuel Quickley, Toppin, Julius Randle, and the New York Knicks will face the Boston Celtics. Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and the Miami Heat will host the Detroit Pistons.

Karl Anthony-Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves will head to play the Toronto Raptors, while Nick Richards, PJ Washington, and the Charlotte Hornets will host the Atlanta Hawks.

Wallace, Olivier Sarr, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and the Oklahoma City Thunder will head to Chicago, where they’ll play the Bulls. Meanwhile, Isaiah Jackson, Tshiebwe, and the Indiana Pacers will host the Washington Wizards.

De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Trey Lyles, and the Sacramento Kings will head to Utah to face Jazz, while Keldon Johnson and the San Antonio Spurs host the Dallas Mavericks.

BJ Boston Jr. and the Los Angeles Clippers will host Shaedon Sharpe and the Portland Trail Blazers for the final game of Wednesday night’s schedule. Meanwhile, the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader will feature Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers at Livingston, TyTy Washington and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Unlike the NFL, the NBA is quite a bit longer when it comes to the regular season. So while there may be a few “hot” takes later this week regarding how a specific team or group of teams start, a lot can change between now and when the playoffs begin next April.