NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt fans will have plenty of reasons to tune in to the 2022 NBA Finals which begin Thursday.
The Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors begin their best-of-seven series at the Chase Center at 8 p.m. CT in San Francisco and a host of Commodores will be directly involved in the action.
In uniform for Boston will be veteran Luke Kornet and second-year player Aaron Nesmith.
Kornet, Vanderbilt’s all-time leader in career blocks, is in his fifth season in the NBA after originally signing with the New York Knicks in 2017. Since then he’s appeared in 148 NBA games – 12 this season with the Celtics – and played for five other teams.
Nesmith was a first-round pick (14th overall) in the 2020 NBA Draft after playing 46 games for the Commodores in 1+ seasons in Nashville. A Charleston, South Carolina, native has played 98 games for the Celtics and is averaging 4.2 points in his young career.
In Boston’s front office, former Vandy standout Steve Tchiengang is a player enhancement coach for the Celtics. Tchiengang played 127 games for the Commodores from 2008-12 and averaged 3.8 points and three rebounds during that span.
For the Golden State, former Vanderbilt star Festus Ezeli has found a role with NBC Sports Bay Area where he contributes as an analyst on the regional network covering the Warriors. Ezeli was the 30th overall pick – by Golden State – in the 2012 NBA Draft and would go on to play 170 games in his professional career.
Ezeli was a second team All-SEC selection and had 87 blocked shots during the 2010-11 season at Vandy.
Boston finished the regular season 51-31 and beat Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Miami to reach the finals while the Warriors (53-29) knocked off Denver, Memphis and Dallas in the playoffs.
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Warriors Live: Playoff Edition is airing right now on NBC Sports Bay Area and streaming here: https://t.co/B1elisQTUr pic.twitter.com/WM10jmNHss
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 27, 2022
