Good Morning, Illini Nation: Former Illinois standouts and the NBA Finals

Jun. 3—The NBA Finals start tonight in San Antonio where we'll either see the beginning of another Spurs dynasty or witness the New York Knicks start their march to their first title since 1973.

>While the number of former Illinois standouts in the NBA continues to grow, none are playing this week. A dozen of them, though, did experience an NBA Finals run during their careers. Remember when ...

>— Leonard actually started Games 2 and 3 with Bam Adebayo unavailable and averaged 7 points in limited minutes. Nunn, an NBA All-Rookie selection that year, put up 10.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game off the bench in Miami's series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

>— A midseason trade sent Williams from the Dallas Mavericks to the Cavs where he wound up playing the final 24 games of his 12-year career. Williams played sparingly in Cleveland's 2017 Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors, getting on the court for just 61 total minutes in five games.

>— The 6-foot-9 rookie wasn't exactly in Los Angeles' rotation in the 2004 series loss to the Detroit Pistons, however, and scored just four points in 21 minutes across three of the five games.

>— Orlando beat Chicago in the second round and topped Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals before losing the 1995 NBA Finals to the Houston Rockets. Anderson averaged 12.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists, but Houston still swept the Magic.

>— The former Illinois guard joined New York in an early January trade from Dallas after Doc Rivers suffered a season-ending injury for the Knicks. Harper slotted right into the lineup and put up 16.4 points, six assists, three rebounds and 2.4 steals as New York dropped a seven-game series to Houston in the 1994 Finals.

>— Finals MVP Rick Barry and the Warriors were too much for the Bullets in a four-game thumping. Weatherspoon came off the bench in all four games and averaged four points and 3.5 rebounds.

>— Yes, Kuberski left Illinois and finished his college career at Bradley, but he still counts (at least somewhat). Kuberski played just a single minute in the 1974 Finals, but got more playing time in 1976 after re-signing with the Celtics after being waived by the Buffalo Braves. "The Polish Powerhouse" started two games in the 1976 Finals and averaged 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds as Boston took down the Phoenix Suns in six games.

>— Bemoras didn't play the two years prior to his single-season stint with St. Louis because of military service, but he helped the Hawks reach the Finals against the Boston Celtics. Bemoras scored nine points in Game 1 (a double overtime win for St. Louis) but played just 10 total minutes the rest of the series (that Boston won in seven games).

>— The Illinois teammates won their only NBA championship together in 1955 with the Syracuse Nationals. Kerr was the standout rookie, putting up 12.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, while Osterkorn played a smaller role in the seven-game series win against the Fort Wayne Pistons. Osterkorn had a bigger role for Syracuse in 1954, averaging 11.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and two assists in the Nationals' seven-game series loss George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers.

>— Phillip won just a single title in 1957 with the Boston Celtics, but also reached the 1958 Finals with the Celtics and the 1955 Finals and 1956 Finals with the Pistons. Phillip came off the bench in 1957, averaging 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds for a loaded Boston team that featured Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman and Tommy Heinsohn.