Waiters To Be Crowned a Champion
The NBA season has come with its fair share of peculiarities. Not only has it been strange that the players are isolated in Orlando with no fans to cheer them on, but it is September and the Finals have not even been played yet.
If you thought the strangeness was going to end there, well think again. Syracuse men’s basketball alumni Dion Waiters, who played for the team from 2010-2012, finds himself in an interesting situation going into his first ever NBA Finals appearance.
Waiters played his Freshmen and Sophomore year at Syracuse before declaring for the NBA draft in 2012. He was selected 4 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just three spots behind the number one overall pick in Anthony Davis, his current teammate.
Bouncing from Cleveland to Oklahoma City to Miami, Waiters played the past four seasons with the Heat.
Back in February, in a six-player trade the Miami Heat sent Dion Waiters, Justise Winslow, and James Johnson to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Andre Iguodala, Solomon Hill, and Jae Crowder. Waiters did not play a game for the Grizzlies, as he was immediately waived.
Neither the Heat or Grizzlies wanted Waiters on their rosters, due to ongoing controversies and suspensions Waiters was dealing with this season. Little did Waiters know that another chance would be waiting for him in Los Angeles.
In March, Waiters was reluctant to be signed by the Los Angeles Lakers to benefit their postseason push. Waiters received a solid amount of playing time in the NBA’s Bubble restart but has not seen the floor since Game 2 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals against the Houston Rockets.
Since Waiters has played for both the Heat and Lakers during this season, he finds himself in a situation where he will receive a championship ring, regardless of who brings home the Larry O’Brien trophy. With the way that Miami has been bringing the heat this postseason, the Lakers chances at grabbing the NBA title is far from guaranteed.
Waiters has become the first Syracuse alumni since 1980 to be a part of an NBA Finals team. 40 years ago, Marty Byrnes, who also played for the Lakers, was crowned a champion when the Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games. Byrnes got to play alongside some of the Laker greats in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.
Waiters will become the first Syracuse alumni since Byrnes to receive a championship ring. Waiters and the Lakers will look to become this year’s NBA champs, as they face the Miami Heat tonight at 9:00 PM on ABC.
