The NBA season begins with 24 Blue Devils on the Opening Day roster

DURHAM, N.C. – With Opening Night in the NBA set for Tuesday, October 22nd, the Duke men’s basketball program will have 24 members of the Brotherhood on the roster for Opening Day. The list was compiled from the NBA’s official inaugural lists (including two-way and inactive lists) and includes all Blue Devils who played at Duke and finished their college basketball careers.

The Blue Devils have players in a total of 18 different franchises, including a trio in Phoenix (Grayson Allen, Tyus Jones And Mason Plumlee) and four duos in Charlotte (Seth Curry And Mark Williams), Dallas (Kyrie Irving And Dereck Lively II), New Orleans (Brandon Ingram And Zion Williamson) and Orlando (Paolo Banchero And Wendell Carter Jr.).

Jayson Tatuma forward/guard for the Boston Celtics, will celebrate his first NBA championship in the 2023-24 season. Tatum, a five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection, helped the Celtics to a league-leading 64 regular-season wins and defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the NBA Finals. brothers Tre And Tyus Joneswho play for San Antonio and Phoenix, respectively, will face each other three times during the regular season, including once during NBA Cup group play.

Duke’s two draftees from the 2023-24 roster, Kyle Filipowski And Jared McCainwill make their NBA debut this season. McCain, Duke’s 56th all-time first-round pick, played an average of 22.8 minutes in the preseason, scored 12.8 points and grabbed 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent from the field overall and 37.9 percent from beyond the arc the distance shot. Filipowski played an average of 13.2 minutes in the preseason and collected 4.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Duke’s two dozen NBA players also join a long list of former players, coaches, managers and Duke alumni who have served on the NBA coaching staff or in front office positions for 26 of the league’s 30 teams and for the league office are active. That includes the former Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewskiwho joined the NBA this summer as a special advisor, a 1984 Duke graduate Adam Silver (NBA commissioner), Grant Hill (part owner of the Atlanta Hawks), Elton Brand (General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers), Trajan Landon (Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations), Quin Snyder (Head Coach of the Atlanta Hawks), Mike Dunleavy (General Manager of the Golden State Warriors) and JJ Redick (Head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers).

Blue Devils in the NBA
Grayson Allen-Phoenix
Marvin Bagley III-Washington
Paolo Banchero – Orlando
RJ Barrett-Toronto
Wendell Carter Jr. – Orlando
Seth Curry – Charlotte

Kyle Filipowski –Utah
Brandon Ingram – New Orleans
Kyrie Irving-Dallas
Jalen Johnson-Atlanta
Tre Jones-San Antonio
Tyus Jones-Phoenix
Luke Kennard-Memphis
Dereck Lively II-Dallas

Jared McCain –Philadelphia
Wendell Moore Jr.-Detroit
Mason Plumlee-Phoenix
Cam Reddish-LA Lakers
DJ Steward – Chicago
Jayson Tatum-Boston
Gary Trent Jr-Milwaukee
Dariq Whitehead-Brooklyn
Mark Williams-Charlotte
Zion Williamson-New Orleans

To stay up to date on Blue Devils men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching “DukeMBB.”



Duke Centenary

In 2024, Duke will celebrate its centennial, marking 100 years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen understanding of its history, inspire pride, strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of sustained excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu



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