Arizona’s presence in the NBA Finals has been uninterrupted for a dozen seasons, a run that stretched into the current championship series as former Wildcats continued to appear in prominent roles on and off the court. The streak, which began in 2015, continued this year when San Antonio advanced past Oklahoma City in a seven-game Western Conference Finals and positioned one of the program’s newest NBA alumni to participate on the league’s biggest stage. That representation arrives in multiple forms: a rookie player about to experience the Finals for the first time, veteran coaches who spent time on the university staff and a familiar collection of former players who have cycled through postseason rosters over the last decade-plus.
Carter Bryant, in his rookie NBA season, figures prominently among Arizona’s contingent. A reserve forward for the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant is set to make his Finals debut after the Spurs defeated the defending champions in a seven-game conference final series. If San Antonio emerges victorious the way some historical rematches have gone, Bryant would join a list of Wildcats who have captured an NBA title, potentially becoming the program’s next champion. The Spurs’ path through the Western Conference culminated in a gritty series that sent Bryant and his teammates into the championship round.
The Finals matchup also includes Arizona ties on the opposing sideline. The New York Knicks’ staff features Riccardo Fois as an assistant coach; Fois spent three seasons on the Arizona coaching staff under Tommy Lloyd before moving into the NBA. His presence on an Eastern Conference coaching staff continues the pattern of Wildcats transitioning from Tucson into professional roles that reach the league’s deepest rounds. That crossover—from college coaching and playing careers in Arizona to staff and roster spots in the NBA—has become a recurrent theme in recent Finals decades.
The lineage of Arizona-affiliated personnel in the Finals stretches back to the run that began in 2015, when the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers met in the first of several championship rematches. That Warriors era included multiple Wildcats connections: former Arizona forward Andre Iguodala was on Golden State’s roster and has been identified as the last Wildcat who played for Lute Olson to reach the NBA level; Steve Kerr served as head coach; and Bruce Fraser, an assistant coach, had been a player for Olson in the 1980s. Those ties helped establish the modern pattern of Arizona representation across championship series.
Golden State Warriors player (No. 9) on the court during the NBA Finals — one of several players with Arizona ties this season.
Cleveland’s Finals appearances also included Wildcats in coaching and playing roles. Bret Brielmaier served as an assistant coach for Cleveland, and the Cavaliers added former Arizona forwards Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye to their rosters during seasons when the franchise reached the Finals. Richard Jefferson has remained in the Finals orbit in a different capacity as well, returning as a color analyst for ESPN and ABC’s coverage of the championship series. Meanwhile, the Warriors’ extended run included five straight Finals appearances and six overall between 2015 and 2022, a stretch that featured leadership and playing talent connected to the Arizona program.
Denver Nuggets forward (No. 50) goes to the rim in a postseason game; another Arizona-connected player highlighted in Finals coverage.
Beyond the teams that reached the 2015 Finals, other Wildcats have also reached the NBA’s final stage in recent seasons. Solomon Hill played with the Miami Heat in Finals action; Deandre Ayton appeared for the Phoenix Suns; Aaron Gordon and Zeke Nnaji represented Arizona alumni on Denver’s roster; Brandon Williams saw Finals time with the Dallas Mavericks; and both Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell were on Indiana Pacers postseason rosters that reached the league’s late rounds. On the coaching side, Miles Simon, who guided Arizona to the 1997 national championship as a player, and Quinton Crawford were assistant coaches on the Los Angeles Lakers’ staff during the organization’s 2020 “bubble” championship run. Those examples underscore the variety of roles Wildcats occupy in Finals-level basketball, from rotation players to strategic staff members and media contributors.
Over time, the program has produced former players who went on to win NBA championships, with a handful achieving that pinnacle multiple times. Jud Buechler, a reserve forward in Chicago’s second Michael Jordan-era three-peat, collected three championship rings with the Bulls from 1996 through 1998. Steve Kerr, another Arizona alumnus, has five championships to his name as a player: three with Chicago in that same Bulls stretch from 1996-98 and two with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999 and 2003. Kerr’s playing career included moments that remain part of Finals lore, such as a midrange game-winning shot in 1997 that sealed a title for his Bulls against the Utah Jazz. Those championships are part of a broader record of Wildcats who have left their mark on NBA title history, joining the long list of former Arizona athletes and coaches who continue to surface whenever the league’s postseason narrows to its final two teams.