The Virginia Cavaliers men’s basketball team has a long and illustrious history, one that saw the team of 2019 walk away with the NCAA Tournament title, the highlight of the Cavaliers’ 117-year history. The team is the only ACC program to have earned number one seeds in all four regions of the NCAA Tournament, which makes it not surprising that several of its former students now grace the court in basketball’s elite competition, the NBA. In this article, we look at four former Cavaliers who are now playing in the NBA.
Kyle Guy
Kyle Guy turned out for the Virginia Cavaliers for three seasons, between 2016-17 and 2018-19. Cavaliers’ fans saw Guy develop year-on-year, from starting only seven games during his first season to starting all 38 games as a junior. That final season saw Guy register his best stats for field goal percentage (.449), free throw percentage (.833), rebounds per game (4.5), assists per game (3.1) and points per game (17.4).
The New York Knicks drafted Guy in Round 2 with the 55th overall pick, but he was traded to the Sacramento Kings, who signed him on a two-way contract that saw him split his time between the Kings and their NBA G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings. He joined the Golden State Warriors for the 2021 NBA Summer League and went 3-for-7 from three-point range against the Orlando Magic, debuting with 15 points in 17 minutes. This led him eventually to the Miami Heat, a favorite with the Florida betting market, taking a chance on Guy.
Trey Murphy III
Trey Murphy III played college basketball for the Rice Owls and Virginia Cavaliers. He treated supporters to 21 points from the bench in the Cavaliers’ opening game during the 2020-21 season in Bubbleville. NBA scouts ranked Murphy as a top 45 draft prospect, and their predictions came true when he made himself eligible for the 2021 NBA Draft and the Memphis Grizzlies selected him as the 17th overall pick. The Grizzlies traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Murphy received a cool $3,053,760 salary during his rookie season and will earn $3,206,520 during the 2022-23 season. Murphy has been seeing increased playing time during the Pelicans’ run toward a playoff berth, averaging 9.9 points per game over his last 10 games.
Anthony Gill
Anthony Gill’s NBA career did not start until the 2020 season, despite graduating from Virginia in 2016. Gill was exceptional in his final season with the Cavaliers, starting all 37 games and averaging 13.8 points. He went undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft but was determined to forge a professional basketball career for himself, so headed to Germany and signed for MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg. He then moved to the VTB United League and played three seasons for Khimki before the NBA beckoned.
The Washington Wizards saw something in Gill and offered him a two-year, $2,416,291 contract. Gill has had four career starts with the Wizards.
Mamadi Diakite
Mamadi Diakite hails from Guinea but played as a power forward for Virginia from 2015-16 through to 2019-20; Diakite was part of the 2019 NCAA winning team. He declared for the 2019 NBA Draft but withdrew and returned to Virginia for his last season. Diakite put up career-best figures across several categories, leading to pundits predicting a bright future for him.
Surprisingly, he went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft but signed a two-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks in November. He shone for the Lakeland Magic in the NBA G League, leading to the Bucks handing him his debut in April 2021. Diakite was part of the Bucks’ NBA Championship team, thanks to playing 11 games for them. Since then, Diakite has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but they waived him on Feb. 9, to open up a roster spot for KZ Okpala, who they acquired from Miami Heat.
Story by Tayyab Hayat
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