Two former Auburn stars faced off in the NBA

Two former Auburn stars meet on the hardwood in the NBA.

For the first time in a long time, Auburn has a handful of former stars in the NBA. 

The thanks for this should all be given to Coach Bruce Pearl, as he has taken this basketball program from one of the worst in all of college basketball to a yearly contender in the SEC. Taking the program from the bottom to the top has led to some former Tigers being selected in the NBA Draft. 

Two of those former Auburn Tigers in the NBA met as The Houston Rockets played the Utah Jazz. Walker Kessler met up with Jabari Smith Jr., and both of these Auburn stars played great. Smith Jr. scored 24 points on 9-19 shooting with ten rebounds for another double-double. The Rockets won this game 127-126 in overtime, and Smith Jr. was the only Rocket starter with a positive +/- with a +2. Kessler had ten rebounds and seven points in this game coming off the bench. Both the Rockets (20-21) and Jazz (22-22) are in playoff contention thanks to some recent success, and these two former Auburn Tigers are a big reason why. 

Heading into the season, both Kessler and Smith Jr. were two players who had a "real shot" to win the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers has taken a wide lead in that race, but these former Tigers are playing good basketball. 

Auburn is finally putting some talent in the NBA, and all of the thanks needs to be given to Head Coach Bruce Pearl.