Creighton Quintet Ready To Start 2018-19 NBA Season

OMAHA, Neb. -- When the 2018-19 NBA season starts tonight, Creighton University will have five alumni in the NBA at the same time for the first time ever when Kyle Korver, Anthony Tolliver, Doug McDermott, Justin Patton and Khyri Thomas continue the school tradition of Bluejays playing at pro basketball's highest level.

Korver is back with the Cleveland Cavaliers, while McDermott embarks on his first season with the Indiana Pacers after signing a three-year deal in July. Tolliver returned to the Minnesota Timberwolves as a free-agent in the off-season after spending last year with the Detroit Pistons, He'll be teammates in Minnesota with Patton, who is in his second year with the Timberwolves organization. Creighton's newest NBA product is Khyri Thomas, who is part of the Detroit Pistons organization.

Korver played at Creighton from 1999-2003 and was succeeded by Tolliver, who played for the Bluejays from 2003-07. In 2012-13 they were teammates with the Hawks, where they became CU's first alums who were NBA teammates since 1970, as well as becoming the first Bluejay alums to start an NBA game as teammates.

Korver begins his 16th year in the NBA and part of his third season with the Cavaliers, who have lost in the NBA Finals the past two seasons. Known as one of the elite long-distance shooters in the NBA, Korver ranks third in NBA history with 2,213 career three-pointers and is sixth in league history with his 43.14 percent marksmanship from three-point range. Korver and Stephen Curry are the only players in league history in the top-17 of both categories.

Korver's 53.6 percent marksmanship from three-point range in 2009-10 remains an NBA record for a season, smashing a mark held by noted sniper Steve Kerr. In 2013-14, Korver smashed the NBA record (since broken by Stephen Curry) with a 127 game streak with a 3-point basket to obliterate the Hawks franchise mark of 42 and the previous NBA mark of 89 formerly held by Dana Barros. He also led the NBA by shooting 47.2 percent from long-range in 2013-14. In 2014-15 Korver was an NBA All-Star for the first time, was named NBA Co-Player of the Month in January, led the league with 49.2 percent three-point marksmanship, and finished third in the NBA with 221 three-point baskets. Korver became the only player in NBA history to lead the league in three-point percentage four times when he shot 45.1 percent from downtown in 2016-17.

For his NBA career, Korver has scored 10,967 points (second-most among Creighton basketball alumni, trailing only Paul Silas) in 1,104 games (9.9 ppg.). He has also made 88.06 percent of his career free throws, which ranks 16th in NBA history among players with at least 1,200 makes from the charity stripe.

Korver, who was inducted into the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame in August, wears No. 26 with the Cavaliers.

Tolliver enters his third overall season with Minnesota after also spending time with the Cleveland, San Antonio, Portland, New Orleans, Golden State, Minnesota, Atlanta, Charlotte, Phoenix, Sacramento and Detroit organizations in his career. Creighton fans who remember Tolliver as an inside force may be surprised to learn of his perimeter game. More than 63 percent of his career shots have come from behind the NBA three-point arc, and he has made 37.6 percent of those shots from downtown. Last season he made a career-best 43.6 percent of his long-range tries for the Pistons to rank seventh in the league while connecting on a personal-best 159 treys overall. Tolliver has also converted 77.2 percent of his shots at the line and owns 560 career assists (against just 389 turnovers), 181 blocks and 233 steals.

Tolliver went undrafted and spent time in the NBA D-League and Germany before becoming an NBA regular. He wears No. 43 with the Timberwolves.

McDermott played at Creighton from 2010-14 and left as the most decorated men's basketball player in school history. He ranks fifth in NCAA history with 3,150 career points and swept 14 National Player of the Year awards as a senior. McDermott was a three-time conference player of the year and became the first male in 30 years to be named a First Team All-American three straight seasons by the Associated Press.

McDermott was selected 11th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets, then traded an hour later to the Chicago Bulls. McDermott averaged 7.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game over 81 combined games with the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks last season. The son of Creighton head men's basketball coach Greg McDermott, Doug McDermott wears No. 20 for the Pacers.

Patton injured his foot during the summer and expected to miss another 6-10 weeks. He redshirted the 2015-16 season with Creighton before a breakthrough 2016-17 campaign that saw him earn BIG EAST Freshman of the Year accolades. Patton was the 16th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls in June, then traded that evening to the Minnesota Timberwolves with Jimmy Butler for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen. Last season Patton played in 38 games for the Iowa Wolves in the G-League, averaging 12.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game. He also appeared in one game last season for the Timberwolves, scoring two points, Patton wears No. 24 for the Timberwolves.

Creighton's latest addition to the NBA is Khyri Thomas, who turned bypassed his senior year at Creighton to turn pro this past summer. A two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, Thomas was a Second Round pick in the 2018 Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, then traded to the Detroit Pistons. Thomas will don No. 13 for the Pistons.

Including 2018-19, Creighton has now had an NBA player in 35 of the last 36 years, and 52-of-55 seasons since 1964-65.

Before last season, Creighton last had four NBA players at the same time during the 1969-70 season, when Paul Silas, Neil Johnson, Bob Portman and Wally Anderzunas were active simultaneously.

Creighton Quintet Ready To Start 2018-19 NBA Season

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