The University of Kentucky holds the greatest tradition in the history of men’s college basketball, but throughout the years, success at the next level hasn’t been as prominent. That began to change with John Calipari’s one-and-done system over the last 15 years, which produced over 50 NBA players from out of the Joe Craft Center.
That being said, only two former Wildcats who played under Calipari have been part of an NBA Finals-winning team. Anthony Davis won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 before Jamal Murray won one with the Denver Nuggets last season. DeMarcus Cousins ultimately received a championship ring from the Lakers in 2020, although he was not playing on the team when the title was actually won.
That trio alone could make up a dangerous starting five of Calipari-era players. What if we added PJ Washington to the mix?
After being shipped from the Charlotte Hornets to the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the trade deadline earlier this season, Washington has helped transform a team that was once on the outside looking in. Playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the 6-foot-9 forward gave Dallas an extra scoring presence, some needed rebounding, and a worthy defender down the stretch of the regular season.
Fast forward a few months later and Washington has a chance to help the Mavericks hoist the franchise’s second-ever Layy O’Brien Trophy. Starting Thursday night, Dallas will take on the league’s top overall seed, the Boston Celtics, in a seven-game series to decide the 2023-24 champion.
Washington will be as big of an X-factor as any of the non-star players. Through 17 postseason games, the 25-year-old has averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 36.5 minutes per outing. He’s shooting 43.2 percent overall, 36.3 percent from distance, and 69.2 percent from the line.
Admittedly, it’s been an up-and-down NBA Playoffs for Washington thus far. He shot just 31.3 percent from deep in the first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers but saw that number explode to 46.9 percent in the following series against the Oklahoma City Thunder (which featured his former Kentucky teammate and MVP runner-up, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander). He came back to earth a bit against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals though — 25 percent from long range.
But if we go off that trend, Washington is due for another hot-shooting series, right? If he’s making 40-plus percent of his three-pointers, the Celtics will have some problems. It all starts tonight.
- Game 1 in Boston | Thursday, June 6 (8:30 p.m. EST) ABC
- Game 2 in Boston | Sunday, June 9 (8:00 p.m. EST) ABC
- Game 3 in Dallas | Wednesday, June 12 (8:30 p.m. EST) ABC
- Game 4 in Dallas | Friday, June 14 (8:30 p.m. EST) ABC
- *Game 5 in Boston | Monday, June 17 (8:30 p.m. EST) ABC
- *Game 6 in Dallas | Thursday, June 20 (8:30 p.m. EST) ABC
- *Game 7 in Boston | Sunday, June 23 (8:00 p.m. EST) ABC
An illustrious group of NBAchampions
PJ Washington has a chance to join a group of former Wildcats to win an NBA Finals that has historically been reserved for some of the program’s all-time greats. According to BigBlueHistory, only 17 former Kentucky players have gone on to win an NBA championship at some point in their professional careers.
A total of 11 out of those 17 future Hall of Famers went on to win an NBA title.
Just look at this list of past winners. Players with bolded names are members of the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. It’s unlikely that Washington will ever be inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame, but adding his name to the list below would be quite the accomplishment for the former All-SEC performer.
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