Arizona Professional Athletes

Steve Kerr has coached Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and a roster full of elite athletes over more than a decade on the Golden State bench. When he says Brandon Williams is the fastest player he's ever coached, that's not a preseason throwaway line — that's a headline.

The former Arizona Wildcat has turned Golden State's training camp into his personal audition tape, and by every early indication, he's passing with flying colors.

Williams Runs the Show in Warriors Debut

Williams made his presence felt immediately in Golden State's preseason opener, stepping into the lead guard role and holding it throughout a 123-118 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. The loss barely mattered in the broader narrative — Williams' performance was the story. According to Yahoo Sports, he grabbed the opportunity and never let go, flashing the kind of pace-setting ability that the Warriors' second unit has lacked for years.

Multiple pieces from Yahoo Sports have already framed Williams as a potential "weapon" — specifically, a spark-plug guard who can push tempo and create off the bounce in ways Golden State hasn't consistently had off the bench. That's not a small ceiling for a player still establishing himself at the NBA level.

Kerr amplified the hype further by comparing Williams' speed to a Warriors legend — a rare distinction that signals the coaching staff sees something real, not just preseason noise. Per Heavy Sports, Kerr was unequivocal: no player he has ever coached moves like Williams does.

Sports Illustrated noted that Williams' strong play is adding a roster decision complication for Golden State at the forward spot — a sign that his emergence is already reshaping how the front office is thinking about the team's construction heading into the regular season.

Fellow Wildcat Dalen Terry is also on the Warriors' roster, giving Arizona a two-man presence in the Bay. Terry hasn't grabbed the same headlines as Williams this week, but the Tucson pipeline to Golden State is quietly becoming one of the more interesting alumni clusters in the league.

Around the League: Larsson Earning It in Miami

In South Beach, Pelle Larsson is getting his moment. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra appeared on The Dan Le Batard Show this week and made what ClutchPoints described as an "eye-opening admission" about the third-year guard: Larsson simply left him no choice but to carve out a role. Spoelstra explained that Larsson earned his spot incrementally, from the moment he entered the league. That kind of coach-speak carries weight when it comes from one of the NBA's most demanding minds.

In Utah, Injury Clouds Darken the Jazz Outlook

Lauri Markkanen is dealing with a short-term ailment that kept him out of Utah's preseason game against the Denver Nuggets, per Sports Illustrated. The Jazz are already navigating a bruised center rotation after Jusuf Nurkic went down for weeks, per Heavy Sports. It's a rough early stretch for Utah's roster — and for Markkanen, staying healthy heading into the regular season is the only storyline that matters right now.

Meanwhile, Carter Bryant in San Antonio is drawing optimism from the Spurs organization. Sports Illustrated reports that San Antonio expects Bryant and rookie co-star Dylan Harper to build on their rookie experience, with a sophomore leap potentially pushing the team over the top in 2026-27.

The week's biggest Arizona story, though, belongs to Williams. If the preseason is any indication, Wildcat fans in the Bay Area are going to have plenty to cheer about this season.

Arizona's NBA footprint has never looked wider. With training camps in full swing ahead of the 2026-27 season, Wildcats alumni are generating headlines from New Orleans to Denver to Miami to San Antonio — and even Golden State.

Mathurin Makes Noise in New Orleans

Bennedict Mathurin arrived in New Orleans on a two-year, $16 million deal after a strong campaign with the Los Angeles Clippers, and he's already making an impression. The former No. 6 overall pick — who has steadily improved each season since entering the league — has been well-received by Pelicans fans and dropped what some interpreted as a pointed remark about his former stops. Whether it was shade or motivation, the message was clear: Mathurin is treating this as a fresh start and a chance to prove he belongs among the NBA's better two-way wings.

Gordon Anchors Denver's Culture, Eyes Big Season

Aaron Gordon isn't just back in Denver — he's the Nuggets' connective tissue heading into what could be a pivotal year. After an offseason that Nikola Jokic himself called lackluster, Gordon has taken on a vocal leadership role, publicly championing newly added veteran DeMar DeRozan as a key scoring piece to replace the departures of Peyton Watson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Jonas Valanciunas, and Bruce Brown. Gordon also put a spotlight on two-way signee Cam Whitmore, calling him a standout in training camp and a potential X-factor for Denver. Gordon's optimism about the Nuggets' ceiling comes with a caveat, though — his high hopes hinge on a specific condition the team will need to meet once the games count.

Pelle Larsson Is Getting Giannis-Level Praise

The most eyebrow-raising Wildcat storyline of the week belongs to Pelle Larsson. The Heat guard, fresh off signing a $60 million contract extension in Miami, has reportedly drawn praise from Giannis Antetokounmpo — now a teammate — who called him "f***ing good" as the Heat opened training camp. For a young player still establishing himself in the league, an endorsement from one of the game's all-time greats is about as loud a co-sign as it gets. Larsson is entering the season alongside Giannis and Bam Adebayo on a Heat team with genuine championship ambitions.

Bryant Navigating a Crowded Rotation in San Antonio

Carter Bryant's path forward in San Antonio is less straightforward, but arguably just as compelling. The Spurs reached the NBA Finals last season, and Bryant carved out a role in that run — now he faces the harder task of holding onto minutes on a roster that's only gotten more crowded. A quiet mentorship with Devin Vassell has become a storyline in its own right, with Bryant crediting the veteran wing for lessons that go beyond basketball. The bond speaks to a Spurs culture that has long prided itself on player development, even for players fighting for every minute.

Williams Locks In a Warriors Spot

On the West Coast, Brandon Williams is on the verge of making Golden State's final roster after signing a one-year, $2.6 million deal in August. The former Wildcat guard has been dubbed a "difference-maker" at Warriors training camp, and insider reports indicate he's positioned alongside Charles Bassey and Georges Niang to round out the Stephen Curry-led squad entering the season.

Five alumni, five different teams, five different stories — that's a Wildcats NBA presence that Bear Down fans should be watching closely all season long.

Carter Bryant spent one year in Tucson. He's spending his first NBA offseason preparing like a veteran.

The San Antonio Spurs wing — Arizona's most prominent NBA story of the moment — capped a remarkable rookie season by appearing in the NBA Finals alongside Victor Wembanyama, drawing a wave of national coverage and cementing himself as one of the league's most intriguing young players. For Wildcat alumni watching from afar, it's been a season worth tracking closely.

Bryant's Finals Run and What Comes Next

Sports Illustrated chronicled how Bryant approached the NBA Finals as a classroom, studying teammates and making the most of every minute on the floor. The approach wasn't accidental — earlier in the season, Bryant was sent to the G League for a development stint with the Austin Spurs, a move he embraced as part of his stated goal of becoming "the best player in the world."

That mindset paid off. By the Finals, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson was leaning on the rookie wing to help manage Wembanyama's minutes — particularly with veteran big Luke Kornet listed as questionable for Game 5 against the Knicks after the Spurs' Game 4 collapse. The trust Johnson placed in Bryant, a first-year player, in a Finals rotation speaks to how quickly he earned his way into the conversation.

The offseason hasn't slowed Bryant down. He showed up at Summer League in Las Vegas working on playmaking and leadership, mentoring the next wave of Spurs rookies. He also turned up in a widely circulated video of an offseason workout in Nanterre, France — running with Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Tobias Harris, Harrison Barnes, and others. For a player finishing his first NBA year, that's a significant room to be in.

Around the League: Ayton, Markkanen, and Larsson

Bryant isn't the only Arizona alum generating headlines.

Deandre Ayton finds himself in a new situation after being traded to the Washington Wizards, where GM Will Dawkins spent his pre-season media availability hyping the big man's potential and backing new head coach Spencer Keefe ahead of a pivotal 2026-27 season. The Wizards carry a wide range of outcomes, and Ayton — now paired with Anthony Davis on a roster with real uncertainty — is central to that picture.

In Utah, Lauri Markkanen remains a cornerstone of the Jazz's rebuild. The team signed Keyonte George to a five-year, $157.5 million extension this summer, with front-office thinking centered on pairing George and top-two pick Darryn Peterson alongside Markkanen as the franchise's long-term pillars.

In Miami, Pelle Larsson is drawing attention — and some scrutiny — after the Heat committed $60 million to the Arizona product. Analysis of his best- and worst-case scenarios has been a recurring topic in Heat coverage, with the organization clearly betting on Larsson's two-way versatility becoming a significant piece of their rotation.

And in New Orleans, Bennedict Mathurin enters the season as one of four shooting guards the Pelicans are trying to piece together into something resembling a complete player at the position — a puzzle the front office hasn't fully solved.

It's a wide-ranging week for Arizona alumni across the NBA — but Bryant, fresh off the Finals and already in the gym in France, is the one setting the pace.

Pelle Larsson Gets Paid in Miami

The former Arizona Wildcats guard is no longer an afterthought in NBA salary conversations. Pelle Larsson agreed to a four-year, $60 million contract extension with the Miami Heat this week, with a mutual option attached for the 2030-31 season, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. The deal cements Larsson — a former second-round pick — as one of the more remarkable value-to-contract ascensions in recent NBA memory.

The timing is deliberate. Miami moved to lock Larsson up before he could hit restricted free agency, a signal that the front office views him as a genuine building block rather than a fungible roster piece. He joins Bam Adebayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Tim Hardaway Jr. on what is shaping up to be one of the Eastern Conference's more loaded rosters heading into 2026-27. Larsson's role in that mix — as a guard who can defend and space the floor — fits the Heat's identity cleanly.

Sports Illustrated framed the extension as part of a broader salary strategy that has defined Miami's offseason: acquire stars, then lock in the complementary pieces that make them functional. The Heat already re-signed Wiggins earlier this summer; Larsson's deal follows the same logic. The front office is building around a core it trusts, not patching holes on the fly.

There's also a competition angle still unresolved. Heading into training camp, Sports Illustrated noted that the rotation spot behind Thompson figures to be the most contested on the roster — with Hardaway Jr. and Larsson both vying for meaningful minutes. The extension doesn't guarantee Larsson a starting role; it guarantees the Heat believe he'll earn one.

Aaron Gordon's Quiet Offseason in Denver

Across the league, fellow Arizona alum Aaron Gordon had a quieter but notable stretch. The Denver Nuggets forward spent much of the summer navigating trade rumors — he was even linked speculatively to Miami in reports connecting him to the Heat's Giannis-era roster — but remained in Denver as training camp approached.

Gordon's health was the more pressing storyline. He appeared in just 36 games last season due to a series of hamstring and calf injuries, and his availability going into 2026-27 had been a legitimate question. Heavy Sports reported good news on that front, with Gordon apparently healthy ahead of the new season. He also drew attention for his public comments about Peyton Watson's departure to Cleveland via sign-and-trade — expressing support for his former teammate while making clear he harbored no hard feelings about the move.

Gordon also offered an early endorsement of Denver's incoming rookie class, a notable gesture from one of the team's veteran leaders as the Nuggets try to reload around Nikola Jokic in what could be Jokic's final season on his current contract.

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Two Arizona alumni, two very different weeks — but both Larsson and Gordon are walking into the 2026-27 season with elevated profiles. Larsson did it with a pen stroke. Gordon is doing it the harder way, by staying healthy and staying relevant on a Nuggets team still trying to figure out what it is.