Former #HLMBB Players of the Year Battle in NBA Eastern Conference Finals
INDIANAPOLIS – The NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals tip-off on Tuesday in Orlando with two former Horizon League Men’s Basketball Players of the Year battling it out for a chance to claim their first NBA title as Kendrick Nunn’s Miami Heat face off against Gordon Hayward’s Boston Celtics.
Nunn, the 2018 #HLMBB Player of the Year, finished runner-up in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting behind Ja Morant, but in front of the first overall selection in this year’s draft Zion Williamson. During the regular season, the former Golden Grizzlies standout played in 67 games, all in the starting lineup, averaging 15.3 points per game in 29 minutes of action, while shooting 44 percent from the floor. He also chipped in 3.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game. Nunn has played in only six games during the postseason due to two separate departures from inside the bubble in Orlando but as made an impact coming off the bench. He scored seven points in the series-clinching win over the Pacers in the conference quarterfinals and played 22 minutes with six points in the win over top-seed Milwaukee to send the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Nunn made an immediate impact in his one season at Oakland finishing second in the NCAA in scoring at 25.9 points per game and led the NCAA in 3-pointers per game at just under 4.5 per contest. He also led the country with 11 games of 30 or more points. The Chicago native was named to the Lou Henson All-American list and was one of five finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award given to the top shooting guard in Division I men's college basketball.
Hayward, the 2010 #HLMBB Player of the Year, is in his third year with the Celtics and his 10th overall in the NBA. He played and started in 52 games this season and averaged 17.5 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor including 38 percent from behind the arc. Hayward has not been able to contribute to Boston’s postseason run due to an ankle sprain he suffered late in the fourth quarter in the first playoff game against Philadelphia. He is projected to return for the Eastern Conference Finals and that is a welcome sight for Celtics fans as Hayward averaged 22 points per game against Miami during the regular season.
Hayward helped lead Butler to one of the most miraculous runs in the history of the NCAA Tournament in 2010 as the Bulldogs were one half-court shot away from defeating Duke for a national championship in Indianapolis. That season the Brownsburg, Ind. native led Butler scoring 15.5 points per game and 8.2 rebound per contest and he also led the Horizon League with 12 double-doubles. Hayward was named as one of 30 finalists for the Naismith Trophy, was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the West Regional and the All-Tournament Team at the 2010 Final Four.
Former Butler head men’s basketball coach Brad Stevens is in his seventh year as the head coach of the Boston Celtics leading them to a 48-24 record this season and the third seed in the Eastern Conference. This will be his third trip to the Eastern Conference Finals as head coach of the Celtics. Stevens was the head coach at Butler from 2007-13 where he was named Horizon League Coach of the Year twice (2009 and 2010) and helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back Final Fours.
The NBA Eastern Conference Finals begin on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.