Keaton Wagler needed one NBA game to land in a statistical sentence with LeBron James. That is a pretty good way to introduce yourself. The part worth looking at, though, is how he got there: fifteen points without needing fifteen shots, plus enough rebounding and passing to make this much more than a nice shooting night.
Yesterday, we had five games to circle and six former Illini to follow. Today, we have an NBA debut, twenty-six points from the Illinois pair in Minnesota, a productive start for Kasparas, and two guys whose first appearances will have to wait. Let’s catch up before the attention turns back to Illinois and Baylor tomorrow.
Keaton made the late game worth it
The Clippers beat Sacramento 121–96, and Wagler finished his NBA debut with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. He shot 4-for-8 overall and 3-for-6 from three.
USA TODAY’s James H. Williams reports that, according to the Clippers, Wagler became the second-youngest player behind LeBron to debut with at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists while shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
