MBB | Three Former Gaels in 2023 NBA Playoffs
4/14/2023 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. — Beginning on Saturday, the NBA Playoffs will feature a Saint Mary's flair. Three former Gaels are in the NBA Playoffs, the three Gaels that are active in the Association: Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova, and Jock Landale.
This marks the 12th trip to the postseason for Mills, whose career has been synonymous with the playoffs. Mills is in his 14th season in the league, and second with the Brooklyn Nets. After becoming a regular in the lineup last season, Mills has made just a pair of starts over 40 games in the regular season. He averaged 6.2 points per game while shooting 36.6% from beyond the arc. He won an NBA championship in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs and was in the NBA's 3-Point Contest last season, becoming the first former Gael to participate in the annual competition during All-Star Weekend.
Dellavedova returned to the NBA this season after heading back to Australia for a year, and he returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2018 with Milwaukee. A 2016 NBA champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dellavedova has been a veteran presence on a Sacramento Kings team this year that makes the playoffs for the first time since 2006, ending the longest playoff drought in North America. He averaged just 6.7 minutes per game in 32 appearances, but has assimilated perfectly with a young core for the Kings that lacked a veteran leader. This is the fifth time in his NBA career that Dellavedova reaches the playoffs.
Landale is in the postseason for the first time in his brief NBA career, and has played an important role in the Phoenix Suns success. He played in 69 games on the season and averaged 6.6 points per game with 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. His shooting percentage went up to 52.8%, thanks in part to a strong finish to the season. He ended the year with 17 points against the Lakers and 15 against the Clippers, two of his 14 games with 10+ points. He also recorded three double-doubles on the year, including a 15-point, 10-rebound game against the Clippers in December.
Of the three Gaels in the postseason, Dellavedova's Kings are the best seed, entering as the number three seed in the Western Conference. They will draw the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the opening round. The fourth-seeded Suns and Landale take on the fifth-seeded Clippers in the first round, while in the Eastern Conference, Mills and the Nets are the six seed taking on third-seeded Philadelphia.
ABC, ESPN, and TNT will have this year's coverage of the NBA Playoffs, beginning on Saturday.
#GaelsRise — There's no place like University Credit Union Pavilion for Gaels Basketball. Place your deposit for season tickets now to experience all of the action for the 2023-24 Men's Basketball season.
This marks the 12th trip to the postseason for Mills, whose career has been synonymous with the playoffs. Mills is in his 14th season in the league, and second with the Brooklyn Nets. After becoming a regular in the lineup last season, Mills has made just a pair of starts over 40 games in the regular season. He averaged 6.2 points per game while shooting 36.6% from beyond the arc. He won an NBA championship in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs and was in the NBA's 3-Point Contest last season, becoming the first former Gael to participate in the annual competition during All-Star Weekend.
Dellavedova returned to the NBA this season after heading back to Australia for a year, and he returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2018 with Milwaukee. A 2016 NBA champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dellavedova has been a veteran presence on a Sacramento Kings team this year that makes the playoffs for the first time since 2006, ending the longest playoff drought in North America. He averaged just 6.7 minutes per game in 32 appearances, but has assimilated perfectly with a young core for the Kings that lacked a veteran leader. This is the fifth time in his NBA career that Dellavedova reaches the playoffs.
Landale is in the postseason for the first time in his brief NBA career, and has played an important role in the Phoenix Suns success. He played in 69 games on the season and averaged 6.6 points per game with 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. His shooting percentage went up to 52.8%, thanks in part to a strong finish to the season. He ended the year with 17 points against the Lakers and 15 against the Clippers, two of his 14 games with 10+ points. He also recorded three double-doubles on the year, including a 15-point, 10-rebound game against the Clippers in December.
Of the three Gaels in the postseason, Dellavedova's Kings are the best seed, entering as the number three seed in the Western Conference. They will draw the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the opening round. The fourth-seeded Suns and Landale take on the fifth-seeded Clippers in the first round, while in the Eastern Conference, Mills and the Nets are the six seed taking on third-seeded Philadelphia.
ABC, ESPN, and TNT will have this year's coverage of the NBA Playoffs, beginning on Saturday.
#GaelsRise — There's no place like University Credit Union Pavilion for Gaels Basketball. Place your deposit for season tickets now to experience all of the action for the 2023-24 Men's Basketball season.
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