The NBA regular season concluded on Sunday which means the playoffs are right around the corner for a few former Mountaineer players in Jevon Carter, Miles “Deuce” McBride, and Joe Mazzulla.
Carter, who spent four seasons in Morgantown from 2014-2018, has become an integral part of the Milwaukee Bucks, helping them reach the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Averaging 22 minutes a game, Carter played in all but one of the teams’ games this season while starting in 39 of those games. Carter and the Bucks are awaiting the results of the Play-In games to determine their first-round opponent.
Just below the Bucks in the Eastern Conference are the Boston Celtics who are led by first-year head coach and former Mountaineer Mazzulla who spent five seasons as a Mountaineer and was a key part of WVU’s Final Four run in 2010.
Mazzulla took over for the Celtics in September of 2022 following the suspension of then head coach, Ime Udoka. In February, the Celtics named him the permanent head coach and rewarded him with a contract extension.
Mazzulla finished the season with the second-most wins ever by a Celtics rookie head coach and is looking to become just the sixth coach in NBA history to win the championship in their first season. Mazzulla and the Celtics are awaiting the results of the play-In games to determine their first-round opponent as well.
Sitting as the fifth-seed in the Eastern Conference are McBride and the New York Knicks. McBride spent two seasons with the Mountaineers, helping lead them to a three-seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament prior to declaring for that year’s draft. McBride has appeared in 64 games for the Knicks this season, averaging nearly 12 minutes per game. McBride and the Knicks will begin their playoff run on Saturday against the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
