10 former Syracuse Basketball players suited up for NBA teams this season. ITLH breaks down the grades they received for the 2017-18 NBA season!
Syracuse Basketball saw 10 former players suit up for NBA teams during the 2017-18 season. Although we all want this number to be higher, Cuse definitely has its’ imprint all over professional basketball.
In fact, we probably wouldn’t really complain if this number stayed the same, so Tyus Battle could stay, win a National Championship, and then the Rookie of the Year in 2020.
NBA fans will still be able to watch some Cuse players in the Playoffs, as Melo and Jerami Grant will try and lead the OKC Thunder to a Championship. Malachi Richardson and Chris McCullough also play on playoff teams, so who knows, maybe they’ll get some action as well.
Regardless, now that the regular season is over and the NBA Playoffs are among us, let’s hand out grades for these former Cuse alumni.
It isn’t really fair to give Lydon an actual grade, given he only played in one game for the Denver Nuggets, in which he only played 2 minutes. With that being said, Lydon did suit up in 15 games for the Nuggets’ G-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In those games, Tyler averaged 12.6 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and shot an impressive 52% from the field, per G-League.
Of course the G-League is heavily dominated by guards, but these are still pretty impressive numbers. Lydon showed that he can score efficiently and rebound effectively out of the 4-spot. The NBA is just a whole nother monster.
The one good thing in favor of Lydon is the fact that he is still a rookie. He’s also pretty young too, at only 22 years of age. If he can put on some more weight and develop his three even more, I truly believe that Lydon has a place in the NBA. Perhaps even a switch to the 3-spot can give Tyler a better chance at making a roster for the long haul.
It still remains a question whether or not Lydon will get an actual shot on an NBA team, so we’ll just have to wait and see. As long as he works hard at it, Tyler will have a bright future ahead of him.
Like Lydon, McCullough spent most of his time in the G-League this season. The former one and done played 12 games in the G-League for the Erie Bayhawks, averaging a steady 11.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 1.7 SPG, per G-League. These aren’t crazy good numbers, but do show some potential.
McCullough also spent some time with the Washington Wizards, played in 19 games for the team that finished in 8th place in the Eastern Conference. McCullough only garnered about 5 minutes of playing time a night, but was still able to average 2.4 PPG and 1.3 RPG, per ESPN.
Although a small sample size, it does show the Chris has the potential to be a valuable role player in the future. Like Lydon, McCullough is still young, but will have to continue to prove himself for more court time.
McCullough will have to continue to play the 4-spot in the NBA, which is the only thing that could hurt him. In today’s NBA, most players can play multiple spots. At 6-9, Chris is a bit undersized for a Power Forward, but just doesn’t have the right skill set for a small forward. Nonetheless, McCullough has what it takes to be a key rebounder off the bench, and potentially score when needed.
It seemed for a while that Richardson was beginning to up his playing time in Sacramento. The shooting guard played in 25 games for the Kings, and even started four, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.3 RPG over about 13 minutes of playing time each game, per ESPN.
Richardson even cracked double-digits in scoring once, with 10 points against the Wizards on October 29th. However, Malachi was traded to the Raptors, and never really got a big opportunity.
Richardson did actually score two points in his lone game in a Raptors uniform, but the majority of his time in Toronto has been on the bench or in the G-League, where he averaged 8.8 PPG and 3.9 RPG, per G-League. In a reoccurring trend, Malachi is also still young, and has clearly proven that he could be a potential scoring threat off the bench.
I do think that Malachi has a ton of potential. At 6-6, he is at a great size for the off-guard. Richardson can also score in many ways, including from three and in the lane. If he can continue to work on his game and improve his defense, the 22 year old from Trenton, New Jersey could potentially be a lethal scorer off the bench.
White had all the odds stacked against him going into his rookie campaign. A good 3-point shooting guard at 6-7 may have helped his cause a bit, but overall, a 24 year old rookie never sounds pleasant. However, White has definitely proven his worth in season number one.
White played only played in 15 games for the Hawks, but did see good court time, at 14 minutes a game. He was able to score 4.6 PPG and grab 2.3 RPG, per ESPN. Perhaps the biggest part of White’s success was his 3-point shooting, as White connected on 18 of 49 threes, good for 37% from behind the arc. Andrew also had a career-high 15 points in his NBA debut against Detroit. Expect to see much more from White next season.
Andrew also played extremely well in the G-League. He averaged 15.6 PPG, grabbed 4.5 RPG, and made 100 threes out of 247 attempts, good for 40.5% from long range per G-League. This not only showed that White knows how to shoot the basketball, but that he can do it consistently. He also rebounds well from the guard position.
If White can hone in on his handles, he can be a very good player in the NBA. Nowadays, positions 1 thru 4 need to be able to handle the ball, and White does so adequately, but not at a high level. If he can change this for the better, he will see much more time in the NBA next season.
Injuries have slowed down MCW over the years, but that hasn’t stopped him from filling in as a good option at back-up Point Guard. The 6-6 Carter-Williams averaged 4.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 16.1 MPG per ESPN. All of these were career-lows, but the fact of the matter is that MCW is here to stay.
The former Syracuse Basketball guard did put up some numbers throughout the season. He topped 10 points on five occasions, had 3 steals in a game five different times, and had numerous games where he grabbed 5 or more rebounds.
Overall, it could have been easy to give Carter-Williams a lower grade. However, it often happens that a team moves on from an injury-prone player like MCW. With this being said, the Hornets didn’t do this. Instead, they stuck with him for the entire season. This shows a lot about Michael’s character and what he can deliver on and off the court.
It may be tough to tell where he will play next, if the Hornets elect to move on. However, Michael is a very reliable backup Point Guard who can guard multiple positions. This season wasn’t as much about his stats, but his value to an NBA team.
The former Cuse point that will forever be remembered for his half-court game winner to down Pitt (and more importantly keep us undefeated) had a pretty good year in the NBA this season.
At times Ennis was the 3rd option at PG for the Lakers, but he still managed to see 12.6 MPG on the court. Tyler shot 42% from the field, which was good enough for 4.1 PPG. Ennis also had 1.9 APG and a career-best 1.8 RPG per ESPN.
Ennis impressed down the stretch of the season, scoring over 10 points in 4 of the last 6 games, including a 22 point outburst against Utah on April 8th. If this means anything at all, it shows that Ennis could very well be a starting Point Guard for some teams, and for sure be a backup for years to come.
He has played for 4 teams in his 4 years in the NBA. With that being said, I think that he brings a lot of quality components to wherever he plays. He has tremendous court vision, plays good defense, and can score when needed. It will be up to the Lakers if they choose to continue with Lonzo Ball and/or pursue a veteran point guard in free agency. However, Tyler continues to show why he deserves to be in the NBA.
I for one, commend Wes for attempting to guard James Harden (something that I guarantee no one would want to do), and then having a bit of humor about his stumble afterwards.
However, besides this blunder, Johnson enjoyed another steady season. The 8-year vet doubled his season average in points from a year ago, with 5.4 PPG. Johnson also proved his defensive worth, as he stole it from the offense once per game.
Like MCW, Johnson is a proven player in the NBA, who shows that character and experience can sometimes mean just as much as stats. With that being said, Johnson did drop 24 points in a win against Atlanta in November, and had a stretch of 5 straight games in January where he scored 10 or more points in each of them. He also recorded a double-double against Houston on January 15th with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
I believe that Wesley has found a home with the Clippers. After spending the past 4 seasons with LAC, it is evident that Johnson’s defensive worth is key. He also rebounds well for his size and minutes played, and can hit the 3 when needed. All in all it was another successful season for Johnson, who has definitely found his place in the NBA.
I was tempted to go with an N/A grading for Waiters as well, whose season ended only 30 games in after Dion was forced to get ankle surgery. However, that wouldn’t do him justice, because, well, Dion is simply too good of a basketball player.
The 6-4 shooting guard put up 14.3 PPG along with 3.8 APG and 2.6 RPG for the Heat per ESPN. These were clearly a step down for what Waiters has averaged in the past. However, had the Heat had him for the entirety of the season, it’s hard to say they wouldn’t of had a better seed.
With everything being said, Waiters didn’t have his best year, but did have his moments. He tallied above 20 points on six different occasions, including a season-high 33 against Minnesota. Waiters scored 26 points and led a charge down the stretch, as Miami ended a Boston 16-game win streak in December.
Although it wasn’t the season that Dion wanted, it should be clear by now that he is one of the best 2 guards in the league. Waiters can score in almost every way possible, and has improved his defense and passing. Expect next season to be an A grade for Waiters.
The high-flying athletic freak out of Syracuse just had his best season in the NBA.
Grant played in 81 games for the Thunder, coming off the bench in all but one. However, in 20.3 MPG, Jerami put up 8.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and shot a career-best 54% from the field per ESPN. In fact, all of Jerami’s stats this year ranked near or at the top of his 4 NBA seasons thus far.
This season was more about Grant’s worth to the Thunder than anything. Time after time, Grant delivered when needed, whether it was in crunch time, on the glass, or for a defensive stop. He also showed how important he was at multiple positions, as Grant played anything from small forward to center when needed. We really shouldn’t have expected anything less, but Grant was a beauty to watch this season.
I truly believe that Jerami has the skill set to take his game to an even higher level. His 54% field goal percentage showed that Grant can score with ease. He also shot close to 30% from three, which albeit is by no standards ‘good’, but given his range at Syracuse, is a big improvement. If Grant can get stronger, he can be a legitimate force at power forward.
It would be really tough to put any other player in this spot, given Melo’s career. With that being said, it was a bit of a down year for the future Hall of Famer. Albeit, Melo is now in his 15th NBA season, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that his stats would be a bit down. However, as the 3rd and sometimes 4th option on the Thunder, Melo still delivered, scoring 16.2 PPG, grabbing 5.8 RPG, and dishing out 1.3 APG, per ESPN.
Anthony also had numerous accolades this season. On January 27th, Melo eclipsed the 25,000 point mark, becoming the 21st player in NBA history to reach that plateau. Along the way, Carmelo passed numerous NBA greats on the point leader board, including Allen Iverson and Reggie Miller.
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What really gives Melo the A+ grade are the sacrifices he had to give up for the Thunder to be successful. Melo took 4 less shots per game than his career average, as well as making the transition from a one on one type player to a 3-point specialist. Sure, Anthony had some troubles along the way, as he has never had this role in the entirety of his basketball career. But Melo still took on the challenge, and it allowed OKC to take home the 4-seed in the West.