Auburn Basketball in the Pros

So this is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while and a tweet from Carter Michaels really got me inspired to take that thought and make it a reality.

There’s no question that Auburn, the team, and the Auburn fans are going to miss Bryce Brown, Malik Dunbar, Jared Harper, Chuma Okeke and Horace Spencer this season. Those individuals helped raise the expectation level of Auburn Basketball up several notches. Now, each of them are playing professional basketball for a living. We thought it would be a great idea to keep tabs on each of them and keep everyone updated on how each of them are doing. So, my goal is to give a weekly update on how these guys are doing.

Jared Harper - Phoenix Suns

Jared Harper joined the Suns for the Summer League and averaged 10.5 points a game. Shortly after the Summer League ended, Jared agreed to a two-way deal which secures a spot on the Suns’ G League roster, and provides an opportunity to play as many as 45 days on the Suns’ active NBA roster. The Suns G-League team is the Northern Arizona Suns, based in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

Jared, however, may have an opportunity of making the Phoenix Suns roster. That remains to be seen, but he made his preseason debut last night and played 5 minutes in the 4th Quarter and scored 5 points, all from the free throw line, in a 111-106 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Harper was 5-6 from the line.

Unfortunately, the Suns G-League doesn’t make their way east too often as the closet they come to Auburn is Southaven, Mississippi to play the Memphis Hustle on March 27th and March 28th. The hope here is that Jared makes it onto the main roster. The Phoenix Suns play in Atlanta on Tuesday, January 14th so maybe he’ll be on the Phoenix roster by then.

Bryce Brown - Boston Celtics

Bryce played for the Sacramento Kings in Summer League ball, averaging 5.4 points a game. After spending the Summer League with the Kings, Brown signed with the Boston Celtics a few weeks ago. According to the Celtics Blog, the Boston SB Nation site, this is the type of contract Bryce signed.

“Brown signed a fully non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract. This contract can be converted to a Two-Way contract or standard NBA contract. If Brown is waived and spend 60 days in the NBAGL, he can earn up to a $50,000 bonus.”

“Each team is allowed to designate up to four players as an Affiliate Player. The key is that these players must have been waived by the affiliated NBA team prior to signing with the NBAGL.”

Bryce was waived back on the 30th and you’ll likely see Brown suit up this season for the Maine Red Claws, out of Portland, Maine.

The Red Claws season starts on November 9th. Assuming Bryce remains on the Red Claws, they come to Atlanta on January 19th to take on the Atlanta Hawks G-League team, the College Park Skyhawks. Auburn plays at Florida that Saturday so if you need to go watch a basketball game that weekend, make the trip to Atlanta to support Bryce!

Chuma Okeke - Orlando Magic

So as all of you know, Chuma continues to recovery from his ACL injury suffered in the Sweet 16 and it looks like Chuma won’t play this year.

I’m looking forward to seeing Chuma out on the court for the Magic in the 2020-2021 season, if not sooner!

Horace Spencer - Atenas (Argentina)

Basketball season in Argentina starts earlier than most and as a result, Horace has played the most games so far amongst this group. Horace is playing for Atenas, a club who has won more titles in Argentina than any other club. Atenas has played in 5 games this year, going 3-2, with Horace starting in all of those games. Through 5 games....

His 2nd game was his best as Horace had 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 1 point win for Atenas!

Malik Dunbar - Artland Dragons (Pro A - Germany)

And we’ve saved #ClassicMalik for last!

Malik was the last of the 5 guys to sign but he has made quite the impact in his 3 games in Germany so far. After playing sparingly for the Golden State Warriors Summer League team, Malik has become one of the best players on his new team. In his debut on September 28th, he had 15 points and 4 rebounds. In his 2nd game last Saturday, he had 15 points and 10 rebounds. His game yesterday, was even better.

Like I said, he’s off to a good start. It’s an early sample size but averaging 21 points and 7.3 rebounds a game in your first 3 games, is pretty good. Artland won their 1st game of the season yesterday but don’t play again until Saturday, October 19th.

Also, if you have another former Auburn player that you would like to know how they’re doing, let me know and I’ll do my best to keep up with them as well. War Eagle!