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DENVER, CO - JUNE 12: The Denver Nuggets celebrate after winning Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat on June 12, 2023 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
NBAE via Getty Images

Men's Basketball

Gordon, Nnaji Win NBA Championship With Denver Nuggets

DENVER – With Monday night's win over the Miami Heat in game five of the 2023 NBA Finals, Aaron Gordon and Zeke Nnaji are the 10th and 11th former Wildcats to win an NBA Championship as players.  
 
It is the sixth time that former Wildcats have been teammates on an NBA Championship team, but the first since Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson were together on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.  
 
Gordon averaged 14.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 60.4% from the floor in the five games of the NBA Finals. For the entire 2022-23 seasons, the San Jose native averaged 16.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shot a career-best 56.4% from the floor.  
 
In his one season at Arizona in 2013-14, Gordon was a Sporting News Third Team All-American and was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. He was a finalist for the Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year award after setting a UA freshman record with 303 rebounds and averaging 12.4 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds over 38 games.  
 
Nnaji made his only appearance of the NBA Finals in game three, playing the final minute of the Nuggets 109-94 win in Miami.  In his third season with Denver, Nnaji averaged 5.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and shot 56.1% from the floor while playing in a career high 53 games.  
 
Like Gordon, Nnaji played just one season with the Wildcats and was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2019-20. He led the Pac-12 with 14 double-doubles and ranked ninth in the conference in scoring (16.1) and fifth in rebounding (8.6). For the season, he shot 57.0% from the floor, the sixth-best by a freshman in school history.  
 
NBA Championships (as player only) 
1996 Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler (Chicago) 
1997 Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler, Brian Williams (Chicago) 
1998 Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler (Chicago) 
1999 Steve Kerr, Sean Elliott (San Antonio) 
2003 Stever Kerr (San Antonio) 
2009 Luke Walton (LA Lakers) 
2010 Luke Walton (LA Lakers) 
2011 Jason Terry (Dallas) 
2015 Andre Iguodala (Golden State; Finals MVP) 
2016 Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson (Cleveland) 
2017 Andre Iguodala (Golden State) 
2018 Andre Iguodala (Golden State) 
2022 Andre Iguodala (Golden State) 
2023 Aaron Gordon, Zeke Nnaji (Denver) 
 
#BearDown  
  
 
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