Dawgs in the NBA: Which Players Are Making the Most Noise?

Now when you are talking about Georgia athletic programs, basketball is usually not the first one to jump off the tip of your tongue. However, Georgia has three players in the league right now who are playing key roles on three playoff-caliber teams.

First off is Kentavious Caldwell Pope. The Nuggets were looking for a 3&D player this off-season and that’s when KCP caught their eye. They traded for him in July and since then he has been a key player on the best team in the western conference. He is averaging 11.5 points a game and shooting 47.2% from three which is second in the NBA this season. Pope has been one of those instant-impact players and has given Denver an elite perimeter defender and a sharpshooter to spread the floor more for Nikola Jokic.

Anthony Edwards is playing the best basketball of his young career. This season he is averaging 24.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 4.4 APG on 45.8% FG and 36.0% from three. Edwards has the Timberwolves sitting at 24-24 and 7th place in the Western Conference. He has started to grow his game by getting his teammates more involved this year. During his one year at Georgia that wasn’t the biggest part of his game due to the fact, he was asked to score so much for that team. Once he gets that aspect of his game going he is going to be a very scary player in the future.

The final player from UGA in the NBA right now is Nic Claxton. He has finally started to find his role on the Brooklyn Nets this season. He has appeared in 42 of 45 games this year and averaging a career-high 12.4 PTS, and 8.5 REBS. He leads the NBA in field goal percentage at 73.4% and blocks per game at 2.74. Claxton has also recorded 14 total double-doubles this season.