How former Michigan State players are faring in the NBA, Europe and beyond
A former Michigan State player is in contention for his fifth NBA All-Star Game, another just dropped 33 points in a EuroLeague game and another is hanging up his sneakers after a dozen pro seasons.
Here’s a look at Michigan State’s former professional basketball players around the world halfway through the 2022-23 season:
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
After his fourth NBA title, Green continues to be a constant for the Warriors, averaging 7.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game while ranking as one of the best defensive players of the league. He’s in the running for a spot on the NBA Western Conference All-Star Team when it’s revealed on Thursday.
Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
After missing the first 14 games of the season with a stress fracture in his foot, Jackson is back and going strong with 16.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He’s averaging a career-best 3.2 blocks per game after earning NBA All-Defensive Team honors last year and is near career-best shooting percentages.
Max Christie, Los Angeles Lakers
Christie saw an increased role for the Lakers beginning in early December when Anthony Davis suffered a foot injury. For the year, he played 14.8 minutes per game in 31 games, averaging 3.7 points. After struggling to find his shooting form in his lone season at Michigan State, Christie has found it in the NBA: He’s 42.1 percent deep for the season.
Xavier Tillman Sr., Memphis Grizzlies
Tillman continues to hold a spot near the end of the rotation at Memphis in his third year in the league. He’s played in 31 of the Grizzlies’ 50 games this year, averaging 12.5 minutes per game. He’s averaging 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, though his scoring and rebounds per minute are the highest of his career.
Gary Harris, Orlando Magic
Harris struggled to stay healthy: he missed the first 15 games of the year after tearing his meniscus, then suffering a hamstring injury in early December and missing nearly a month of more. In his ninth NBA season, he’s averaging 9.1 points per game, but shooting 46.9 percent from 3-point range and 51.5 percent from the field, both career highs.
Bryn Forbes, Minnesota Timberwolves
Forbes is in his seventh NBA season with the Timberwolves, where he struggled with his shooting (25.6 percent from 3-point range) and saw just 10 minutes per game.
Denzel Valentine, Maine Red Claws (G-League)
Valentine spent training camp with the Boston Celtics and now averages over 15 points per game while in the G-League with the Maine Red Claws.
Gabe Brown, Raptors 905 (G-League)
Brown made contact with the Raptors’ G-League affiliate and was a double-digit scorer and shot over 40 percent from 3-point range in the team’s regular season games.
Cassius Winston, Bayern Munich (Germany)
In his first season abroad, Winston averaged 16.6 points per game and shot 46% from 3 points in German league games, plus 11 points and 3.4 assists per game in German league games. EuroLeague competitions. He topped the 20-point mark twice this month as he leads his team in points and assists.
Raymar Morgan
After a 12-year professional career, Morgan called it quits in December while playing in Turkey due to injury. His career included stints in Israel, Greece and Germany, where he won a league goalscoring title in 2017.
Matt Costello, Baskonia (Spain)
Costello continues to be a productive European player seven years after his college career ended. He averaged 10.2 points per game in the Spanish league for Baskonia, as well as 4.9 rebounds per game. It is also just under 9.7 points per game in the EuroLeague. On Friday, he dropped a season-high 33 points to help his side win a EuroLeague game against Turkish club Andalou Efes.
Aaron Henry, Metropolis Boulogne-Levallois 92 (France)
Henry is currently out of action with a quadriceps injury. He’s averaging 6.1 points per game while playing 21 minutes per game in 11 games this season alongside likely No. 1 in the 2023 NBA Draft, Victor Wembanyama.
Travis Trice, Murcia (Spain)
Trice won MVP honors in Poland last season and is now posting more big numbers in Spain. He averages 12.6 points per game in the Spanish league with a team-high 3.1 assists per game and plays a team-high 23.2 minutes per game.
Deyonta Davis, Taoyuan Leopards (Taiwan)
Davis shares a frontcourt with former NBA All-Star Dwight Howard, but still managed 14.1 points and 12.7 rebounds per game in the T1-T1 League in Taiwan. Davis is in his second season playing there.
Gavin Schilling, Konyaspor (Turkey)
Schilling is on the move this week, traveling to Turkey after playing the first half of the season in France, where he averaged 3.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for Limoges CSP Elite.