LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the NBA’s 2024-25 regular season now in the books, the 2025 iteration of the NBA Playoffs are about to begin. But first, we have the NBA Play-In Tournament to determine the final two seeds of each conference.
While this year’s NBA Playoffs already has one former Cardinal set to compete for the Larry O’Bannon Trophy, the NBA Play-In Tournament has another that is trying to crash the party. This year, point guard Terry Rozier will be helping the Miami Heat try and clinch one of the final spots for the postseason.
Donovan Mitchell already punched his ticket to the NBA Playoffs with the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Damion Lee – the only other active UofL player in the NBA – and his Phoenix Suns narrowly missed the postseason. The NBA Playoffs start next week.
As for the NBA Play-In Tournament, that kicks off on Tuesday, but Rozier and the 10th-seeded Heat won’t see action until Wednesday, Apr. 16. They’ll travel to the ninth-seeded Chicago Bulls, with tip-off coming at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.
The loser of this showdown will see their season officially come to and end. As for the winner, they’ll go on to face the loser of Tuesday’s matchup between the No. 7 Atlanta Hawks and the No. 8 Orlando Magic on Friday, Apr. 19.
Whoever wins then will officially clinch the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, and will open up the NBA Playoffs against the top-seeded Cavaliers.
The 2024-25 season marked Rozier’s first full season in Miami after he was traded to the Heat midway through last season. While the 6-foot-1, 190-pound shooting guard has been productive in his 63 games and 23 starts, his 10.7 points per game is the lowest since the 2018-19 season, while his 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game are the lowest since the 2016-17 season – his second in the NBA.
After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Boston Celtics, Rozier signed a three-year, $58 million contract with the Charlotte Hornets as a free agent prior to the 2019-20 season. He then later inked a four-year, $97 million max prior to the start of the 2021-22 season, and the fully guaranteed deal lasts through the 2025-26 season. The Hornets traded Rozier to the Heat prior to last season’s trade deadline.
Rozier’s game took a tremendous step forward after his move to the Queen City. He averaged 7.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 272 games across four years in Boston, but over his 4.5 seasons with Charlotte, he averaged 20.0, 4.3 and 4.7 in each respective category over 298 games.
Rozier was drafted by the Celtics with the 16th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, following a two year career at Louisville. In his sophomore season with the Cardinals, he averaged 17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, and was named a member of the All-ACC Second Team.
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(Photo of Terry Rozier: Sam Navarro – Imagn Images)
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