Former Wildcats shine during NBA’s Opening Night

The NBA is officially in action, and as teams began their respective seasons, a few former Wildcats shined bright on opening night!

The anticipation is over! Arizona fans longing to see the careers of former Wildcats Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier begin, finally got their chance.

The 2018-19 NBA season technically kicked-off on Tuesday night, but Wednesday was going to draw a lot more attention with the 2018 No. 1 pick making his debut. In addition to Ayton, ten other Wildcats have found their way on opening day rosters.

Arizona Wildcats

Also playing on Wednesday was Aaron Gordon,  Solomon Hill, and Trier.

Down in Florida, in an inner-state match-up featuring the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic, starred Gordon. Now in year five of his NBA career, the veteran is finally coming into his own!

At 23 years old, Gordon has been getting steadily better every year. In his 38 minutes played on Wednesday evening, the former Wildcat star had 26 points (two of which came via this poster) and 16 rebounds, while connecting on four of five three-point attempts, en route to a 104-101 over the Heat!

A little over 1,000 miles north of there in Madison Square Garden, another Wildcat was making his NBA debut. Longing for competitive basketball in the Garden State, Trier made his appearance in the infamous orange and blue, putting together an efficient and remarkable evening.

The undrafted rookie came off the bench playing with a chip on his shoulder, competing for 26 minutes while scoring 15 points and grabbing four rebounds on five of nine shooting! In the Knicks’ 19-point win, Trier would make this incredible dunk!

Across the US, everyone was waiting for the marquee match-up of the evening. Inside Talking Stick Resort Arena (Phoenix, AZ), Ayton, the No. 1 pick took on Luka Doncic (the No. 3 pick in 2018) and the Dallas Mavericks.

It will continue to be debated who should have gone first in the 2018 draft, but regardless, the first of many match-ups between these two began on Wednesday.

The former Wildcat came out strong, scoring his first career points for the Suns on an and-one. Phoenix would eventually pace themselves to the 121-100 win, with Ayton finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes played.

In addition to these Wildcats dominating the hardwood on Wednesday evening, Hill will also finish his night with three points and two rebounds in the New Orleans Pelicans’ 131-112 victory!

At Zona Zealots, we are proud to see the continued success of our former Wildcats and can’t wait to see how they perform the rest of the season! Bear Down, Arizona!