Husky Basketball Players and Their Pro Destinations, NBA to Overseas

A half-dozen UW products remain at the game's top level.

It's been five years since a University of Washington basketball team advanced to the NCAA Tournament and it's happened just once since 2011. So where do these Huskies go when their careers are over, the postseason rewards are fleeting and they're in need of more playing time?

A quick perusal of pro basketball rosters in the NBA, NBA G League and various international leagues reveal that six Huskies currently are in the big show, another six in the pro minor league and seven are collecting passport stamps while shooting hoops.

With the Huskies' NBA roll call dropping significantly in recent seasons, with players such as Isaiah Thomas and Terrence Ross retiring and no Huskies selected in the past three drafts, Montlake counts the following half-dozen players drawing paychecks among 390 overall in the league: Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels and Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart as starters, and Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz, Denver Nuggets forward Justin Holiday and Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle as reserves.

The 6-foot-5 Murray, playing in his seventh season, is the only bonafide star player. For a 26-32 Hawks team, he averages 21.6 points and 5.5 assists while appearing in 54 games.

Sharing in the Timberwolves' resurgence that has brought a 41-17 team, the 6-foot-9 McDaniels averages 10.4 points and 2.6 rebounds while turning himself into one of the league's better defensive players.

Jaden McDaniels has become a defensive stalwart in Minnesota :: Ed Szczepanski/USA TODAY Sports

The 6-foot-8 Stewart, a fourth-year pro same as McDaniels, averages 11 points and 6.8 rebounds, and tries his best to deal with a dreary 9-49 season and control his temper. He recently served a three-game league suspension for landing an arena hallway punch on the Phoenix Suns' Drew Eubanks.

Fultz recently became a reserve point guard for the 33-26 Magic while the 6-foot-4 play-maker averages 8.1 points and 3.5 assists in his seventh NBA campaign.

In his 13th NBA season for his 10th team, the 6-foot-6 Holiday, one of three brothers who have played in the league, averages 3.7 points and 1.2 rebounds for the 39-19 Nuggets.

The 6-foot-6 Thybulle comes off for the bench for the Trail Blazers, averaging 6.2 points and 2.4 assists for a team struggling through a moribund 15-42 season.

Former Huskies who are trying to reach or return to the big leagues are Stockton Kings guard Jaylen Nowell, Greensboro Storm guard Terrell Brown, Westchester Knicks forward Jamal Bey, Austin Spurs guard Erik Stevenson, College Park Skyhawks forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Oklahoma City Blue guard Abdul Gaddy, 

Jaylen Nowell returned home to be honored by the UW in 2023 :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

As of this week, the 6-foot-6 Bey, in his first pro season, was the only one of these former UW players starting in the G League.  He's averaging 5.2 points and shooting just 29.2 percent from 3-point range for his New York team.

Nowell is scoring 19.1 points while subbing in this week for his 14-7 California team after spending nine early season games in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Brown averages 12.3 points while hitting just 19.4 percent of his 3-point shots while coming off the bench for his North Carolina team, with his outside touch all that's holding back the 6-foot-3 guard.

Stevenson, who spent only the 2020-21 season with the Huskies and played for four college teams, averages 9.9 points as a sub for Austin.

The 6-foot-7 Matthews, who played for West Virginia before and after his single season at the UW in 2021-22, averages 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds for his Georgia team.

Gaddy, in his 12th pro season, plays sparingly for Oklahoma City's G League team, averaging 2.8 points per game.

Playing overseas are ex-Huskies in forward Noah Dickerson, guard Andrew Andrews, forward Malik Dime, forward Hameir Wright, forward Sam Timmons, guard Quade Green and guard Justin Dentmon.

Justin Dentmon has played for 22 pro basketball teams / Publicity photo

The 6-foot-9  Dickerson is in Switzerland, averaging 19.4 points and 10.2 rebounds for Starwings Basel; Andrews, in his eighth pro season, is spending this one with Spain's Joventut Badalona; and the 6-foot-9 Dime, in his seventh pro season, plays in Granada in Spain.

Wright, who played at North Texas after four seasons at the UW, averages 12.7 points and 7.6 rebounds for Denmark's Svendborg; the 6-foot-11 Timmons, four years out of the UW, plays for New Zealand's Franklin Bulls; and Green, after bouncing around the G League, is playing in Portugal.

And then there's Dentmon. He's 38. He and Brandon Roy formed the starting backcourt for the UW way back in 2005-06, playing together as a freshman and a senior. The 6-foot guard from Illinois played briefly in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs, the Toronto Raptors and the Dallas Mavericks, eight games in all. 

Dentmon now is in his 15th pro season, suiting up for Puerto Rico's Grises de Humacao, his 22nd professional team. He's also played in Italy, Lithuania, China, Turkey, Lebanon, France, Denmark and the Dominican Republic. It's clear he likes what he does.

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