Zac Oakes is a professional writer in Kentucky who focusses on covering men’s basketball and football at the University of Kentucky.
The NBA Conference Finals feature several former Kentucky Wildcats.
Four former Wildcats are competing in the Western Conference Finals: Rob Dillingham and Julius Randle are with the Timberwolves, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace are with the Thunder.
With a combined total of 69 points and 17 assists in Games 1 and 2, SGA, the league MVP, had outstanding efforts. But SGA had a rough game in Game 3, scoring just 14 points—his lowest total of the season—as the Timberwolves dominated.
In Game 2 of the series, Wallace came off the bench to score 8 points and give out 4 assists, playing a significant role for OKC.
Randle scored 28 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in Game 1, but he had a terrible game in Game 2, scoring only 6 points on 2-11 shooting. He did, however, play a significant role in Minnesota’s decisive Game 3 victory Friday night, scoring 24 points and shooting 60% from the floor.
Although Dillingham hasn’t contributed much to Minnesota’s postseason success, he did get some playing time at the end of last night’s game, playing eight minutes and dishing out four assists.
Though the Knicks are 0-2 in the series going into today’s game, Karl Anthony-Towns has been a vital member of the team this postseason and has scored a total of 55 points through the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals.
In Game 1, Towns scored 35 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. In Game 2, he scored 20 points and pulled down 7 rebounds.
Isaiah Jackson, who sustained a season-ending injury five games into the season, is the only former Wildcat still playing for the Pacers.
All things considered, Kentucky is well-represented in the conference championships this year.
