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Former Badgers Nate Reuvers and Aleem Ford to play in NBA summer league

A pair of former Wisconsin basketball players have an opportunity to to make an NBA roster this summer.

Matt Belz

Former Badgers Nate Reuvers and Aleem Ford to play in NBA summer league
Former Badgers Nate Reuvers and Aleem Ford to play in NBA summer league /

The list of former Wisconsin Badgers ready to participate in the NBA summer league continues to grow by the day.

Former Wisconsin star Johnny Davis will play for the Washington Wizards after joining the team via the 2022 NBA Draft a couple of weeks ago, while former Wisconsin forward Vitto Brown also landed an opportunity with the Los Angeles Lakers.

This week, two more notable Wisconsin alums have earned a chance to play on rosters this summer.

On Thursday, the Orlando Magic released their summer roster, and former Wisconsin forward Aleem Ford was included. His inclusion does not come as a huge surprise after he played five games with Orlando last year, and spent the remainder of the season with the team's G-League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic. Overall, Ford put together a solid season in the G-League, averaging 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and shooting 39% from three-point range in 31 games.

Ford was part of the Badgers' 2019-2020 Big Ten regular season championship team and averaged over 8.5 points per game during his final two seasons in Madison. A multi-year starter at Wisconsin, Ford played over 24 minutes per game in three of his four seasons with the Badgers and was a key part of Greg Gard's rotation throughout his career.

His first game with Orlando will take place on July 7, and the game will air on ESPN at 9 p.m. CST.

Fresh off signing a two-year deal in Italy, Nate Reuvers will also have a chance to showcase his abilities in the NBA this summer. On Friday, the Cleveland Cavaliers shared that Reuvers will participate with them this summer.

The 6-foot-11 forward comes back to the United States after playing in Croatia last year with Cibona Zagreb. As a rookie, he led the Croatian league in blocks and helped lead his team to a Croatian League Championship while averaging 10.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game.

The Minnesota native was a four-year starter for Wisconsin and finished his career as the program's all-time leader in blocked shots. His best season with the Badgers came in 2019-2020 when he led the team in points with 13.8 per game and averaged nearly two blocks per contest. Wisconsin won a share of the Big Ten that season, and Reuvers' ability to protect the rim and score in the post or behind the three-point arc was a big reason.

Reuvers was a third-team All-Big Ten selection as a senior at Wisconsin and a former teammate of Aleem Ford's as well.

The first summer league game for Reuvers will take place on July 8, and the game will air on ESPN at 8 p.m. CST. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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