Tyrese Maxey continues trend of Kentucky guards dominating NBA Playoffs with John Calipari courtside for 76ers' Game 2

Kyle Irving

•
Tyrese Maxey continues trend of Kentucky guards dominating NBA Playoffs with John Calipari courtside for 76ers' Game 2 image

Kentucky guards are built different.

As Tyrese Maxey torched the Nets for 33 points to lead the 76ers to victory in Game 2, a familiar face looked on from the crowd.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari was in attendance to watch his former star guard — a one-and-done Wildcat product who was selected with the 21st overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Even if you've been locked into the 2023 NBA Playoffs thus far, you may not even realize what has been hiding in plain sight. Kentucky guards are everywhere.

Go back to the Play-In Tournament and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on a show to bring the Thunder on the brink of their first playoff appearance in their rebuilding era. 

In the Eastern Conference, guards like Maxey, Tyler Herro and Immanuel Quickley are holding it down for Big Blue Nation. In the Western Conference, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk are making plenty of noise.

Go beyond the backcourt and "La Familia" is all over the playoffs with players like Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Bam Adebayo, Julius Randle, Jarred Vanderbilt, Trey Lyles, Wenyen Gabriel and Brandon Boston Jr.

If coach Calipari wanted to, he could sit courtside and watch one of his former players compete every night of the first round.

Focusing solely on former Kentucky backcourt standouts, take a look at just how good the former Wildcat guards have been already in the postseason.

Tyrese Maxey, 76ers

Maxey put on a show for his former head coach, pouring in 33 points on 23 shots while knocking down a career-high six 3-pointers to give the Sixers a 2-0 series lead over the Nets.

He was a major beneficiary of the Nets' decision to play small and double-team Joel Embiid. Maxey knocked down a pair of 3s off of Embiid assists and also torched Brooklyn in the paint any time starting center Nic Claxton was on the bench.

With James Harden having one of his disappearing acts — finishing with eight points, seven assists and five turnovers on 3-of-13 shooting from the field — it was Maxey who gave his team the spark it needed to power through.

Devin Booker, Suns

The Suns didn't come away with the Game 1 win but Booker's two-way play caught the eyes of the basketball world. Booker has always been known for his effortless ability to score the rock but it was his defense that had the masses praising the superstar guard.

Booker finished the game with 26 points, four steals and three blocks, joining Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway as the only guards to reach those benchmarks in a playoff game in the last 30 years.

De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, Kings

If you tuned in to Game 1 of the Kings-Warriors series, you most certainly heard references to Fox and Monk being college teammates at Kentucky.

The backcourt duo was incredible, carrying Sacramento to its first playoff win in 16 years. Fox was as clutch as he has been all season, going off for 15 of his game-high 38 points in the fourth quarter to close out Golden State.

Monk got hot in a hurry off the bench, breaking a franchise record with 32 points as a reserve.

The last pair of former college teammates to then score 30 in a playoff game as NBA teammates? Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler!

The former Wildcat backcourt combining for 70 points in their playoff debut was something special.

Jamal Murray, Nuggets

NBA fans severely missed watching Murray get buckets in the playoffs last year as he recovered from a torn ACL. The Kentucky product picked up right where he left off in Game 1 against the Timberwolves.

Murray went off for a game-high 28 points, also collecting eight rebounds and eight assists in a near-triple-double effort. He looked all the way back from injury, knocking down some tough shots in a similar fashion to what we saw in the 2020 NBA Playoffs when Murray helped lead the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals.

It was fun to see the Blue Arrow taking and making heat checks like that in the postseason again.

Immanuel Quickley, Knicks

Quickley had an uncharacteristic performance in Game 1 against the Cavaliers, finishing with just three points on 0-of-5 shooting from the field.

The Sixth Man of the Year favorite is sure to bounce back in Game 2, enjoying a breakout season with averages of 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

Tyler Herro, Heat

Herro had the toughest go of any player on this list, suffering a broken right hand after diving for a loose ball in the second quarter of the Heat's Game 1 upset over the Bucks.

He is expected to be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks with a broken middle and ring finger on his shooting hand. This is a massive blow to a Heat team that already had the worst offensive rating of any team in the postseason.

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.