The University of Florida basketball program has developed multiple NBA players whose seasons are now over as the NBA Finals approach. Here’s a recap of what some former Gators did this year:
Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal had arguably the best season of his career. Beal posted career highs in games played (82), minutes per game (36.9), rebounds per game (5.0), assists per game (5.5), steals per game (1.5) and points per game (25.6).
Beal and the Wizards failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since he was drafted out of Florida in 2012 with the third overall pick. Beal played one year with the Gators during the 2011-2012 season, where he became the first player in school history to be named First Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman in the same season.
Boston Celtics center Al Horford had his season come to an end at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the playoffs after his team posted a regular season record of 49-33. Horford, a 12-year NBA veteran, averaged 13.6 points in his third year with the Celtics.
Horford spent three years at UF and was a key player in bringing back-to-back national titles to Gainesville in 2006 and 2007. Horford was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick in 2007.
Joakim Noah only played 42 games in his first season with the Grizzlies. The center averaged 7.1 points per game during the regular season and his team failed to make the playoffs.
Noah played three seasons at the University of Florida from 2004 to 2007 and was another star player for the 2006 and 2007 championship teams. Noah was First Team All-SEC his sophomore and junior years and was drafted with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.
Sacramento Kings forward Corey Brewer, like Noah and Horford, played three seasons under coach Billy Donovan and was drafted in 2007 by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the seventh overall pick.
Brewer averaged 4.9 points per game this season and the Kings failed to reach the playoffs. This was Brewer’s first season with the Kings, his eighth NBA team.
Long-time NBA player Udonis Haslem finished his 16th season in 2019, all with the Miami Heat. The power forward’s future is uncertain, however, and retirement is a possibility.
Haslem played four years at Florida and was a starter every season from 1998 to 2002. Haslem left Florida as the winningest player in the program’s history and never missed a game in his collegiate career.
Despite his success, Haslem went undrafted in 2002. Instead, Haslem signed with French team Chalon Sur-Saone before joining the Heat in 2003.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons finished this season averaging 7.5 points a game in his third season with the Grizzlies. Parsons played basketball at Florida from 2007 to 2011 before being drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 2011 NBA draft with the 38th overall pick.
Dallas Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith played for the Gators from 2013 to 2016 after transferring from Virginia Tech. Finney-Smith averaged 7.5 points per game in 81 games for the Mavericks this season.
Finney-Smith went undrafted but signed with the Mavericks before the start of the 2016 season.
Follow Joseph Salvador on Twitter @JSalvador_14 and contact him at jsalvador@ufl.edu.
Bradley Beal, who played for the Gators during the 2011-2012 season, had the best year of his career in 2019 with the Washington Wizards.
