The other Crimson and Blue starters
Kelly Oubre Jr. (Philadelphia 76ers) - Oubre spent his lone season in Lawrence during the 2014-2015 season, where he made All-Big 12 freshman. Oubre is coming off of a very productive season where he averaged 15.4 PPG and joins Joel Embiid in Philadelphia this year where he will get to start around a star-studded cast of Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey.
Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors) - Another Embiid connection checks in with Wiggins, who was a freshman at KU the same year as Embiid in 2013-2014. Wiggins never quite panned out as “the next LeBron James,” but has revived his NBA career a bit with Steph Curry and the Warriors. Entering his age-29 season, Wiggins will start at SF and look for a bounce-back year.
Christian Braun (Denver Nuggets) - Braun is a Jayhawks fan-favorite as he was KU from 2019-2022 and helped Kansas win the 2022 NCAA Championship. He went on to win an NBA title as a rookie with Denver and now Braun has improved his game enough to start at SG in his third season after the Nuggets moved on from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope during the offseason.
Gradey Dick (Toronto Raptors) - After one year in Lawrence in 2022-2023, Dick was drafted 13th overall, making him the highest KU draft pick since 2017 (Josh Jackson, 4th pick). The 6’6” 20-year-old showed flashes last season, appearing in 60 games (17 starts) and averaging 8.5 PPG. He will look to continue his progression this year in Toronto as a full-time starter.
Now, onto the players who will likely come off of the bench but still provide a key role to NBA teams!