With the 2016-17 NBA season tipping off tonight, we take a look at the five former USC players on opening day rosters.
F Taj Gibson (Chicago Bulls)
The longest-tenured member of a fresh-faced Bulls roster, Gibson will start at forward for Chicago in their season opener on Thursday evening. Last season, Gibson averaged 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, and may see more opportunities to increase those numbers with big men Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah gone. After missing the playoffs last season, Gibson and his new teammates Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo aim to get Chicago back on top.
G Nick Young (Los Angeles Lakers)
Young, who is entering his fourth year with the hometown Lakers, looks to make an impact off the bench this season. The charismatic character, who scored 7.3 points per game last season, is now one of the veterans on a young Los Angeles squad looking to get back to its winning ways.
C Nikola Vucevic (Orlando Magic)
Vucevic led the Magic in scoring (18.2 PPG) rebounding (8.9 RPG) and blocks (1.1 BPG) last season. He was one of just four players (ATL's Paul Millsap, NO's Anthony Davis, SAC's DeMarcus Cousins) to lead his team in those three categories last year. Under new head coach Frank Vogel, Vucevic will look to continue his offensive excellence and potentially push the Magic into the playoffs.
C Dewayne Dedmon (San Antonio Spurs)
Dedmon, USC's most recent NBA addition, enters his first season with the Spurs when they play the Warriors tonight. The Spurs will surely rely on Dedmon's size (7 feet, 245 lbs.) to protect the rim in relief of Pau Gasol. He averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds while playing 12.2 minutes per game last year for the Magic. Dedmon and the Spurs enter the season at No. 3 in ESPN's power rankings.
G DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors)
Fresh off a gold medal winning performance in Rio, DeRozan hopes to take the next step with the Raptors this season. DeRozan led Toronto with 23.5 PPG last year, adding 4.0 assists per game and 4.5 rebounds per game on his way to his second career All-Star game. He helped the Raptors reach the Eastern Conference Finals, where they fell, 4-2, to the eventual NBA Champion Cavaliers. With Team USA this summer, he came off the bench to contribute 6.6 PPG.
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