Which former Sixers player to cheer for in NBA Finals: Jonathan Geib
Sometimes it can be hard to root for another team or player once they are no longer on the Sixers, but I am pulling for our boy Nik Stauskas to get a ring in this series.
Stauskas was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 2014 with the eighth overall pick. That is shockingly high for someone who has essentially been out of the league or a non-factor bench player for the last five-plus years.
At the time of the 2014 draft though it seemed reasonable, considering Stauskas was a key player on the Michigan Wolverines team that went to the Elite 8 earlier that year. In addition to scoring a team-high 24 points in that Elite 8 game, he shot a staggering 44.0 percent from 3-point range during his last season in college.
Stauskas’ time with the Sixers was relatively brief, yet he was able to garner some fan attention with short stretches of brilliant shooting. This was during the dog days of the Process Era for the franchise though so the team struggles were more visible than any individual play.
As Stauskas is now sitting on the Boston Celtics bench, seeing no meaningful minutes in any NBA games. I feel bad for him. He truly did have potential and his shooting ability in college was off the charts when he got in a zone. Stauskas’ skillset just did not translate to the next level as expected and his lack of real NBA development has been his downfall.
So here I am rooting for Stauskas, and as a result the Boston Celtics because it could bring a little redemption to his career. Even though he is not actively contributing to this Celtics’ title run, he is still a member of the team and saw garbage time minutes in Game 3. For a player who has bounced around the NBA and G-League as much as Stauskas, I hope he can win an NBA Championship and secure himself a ring.