Past Gators Set to Tip 2023-24 NBA Season

Long-time veterans and new faces make up the group of Gators from over the years set to tip the 2023-24 NBA season on the court, from the bench and in front offices.

Players

Al Horford
Five-time All-Star Al Horford leads the ranks in length of service, as he preps for his 17th season and his sixth over his two stints with the Boston Celtics.

Bradley Beal
Three-time All-Star Bradley Beal begins his 12th NBA season but his first outside of Washington, as he joins the Phoenix Suns in a blockbuster trade that lands him with a team expected to be among the championship contenders this season.

Dorian Finney-Smith
The 2014 SEC Sixth Man of the Year has forged a long NBA career, playing six and a half seasons with the Dallas Mavericks before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets midseason in 2022-23. He'll open his first full season as a member of the Nets, where he started all 26 appearances down the stretch last season.

Tre Mann
Just 22 years old, 2021 first-round pick Tre Mann opens his third season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, expected to be one of the league's most talented young teams this season.

Colin Castleton
The 2023 first-team All-SEC performer and one of the top shot-blockers in the nation last season signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and looks to split time between the Lakers and continuing his development with the G League's South Bay Lakers.

Alex Fudge
After his sophomore season at Florida, Fudge opted to go pro and earned the opportunity to sign a two-way contract with the Lakers alongside Castleton. Fudge's elite size and athleticism have made him an intriguing young player for the Lakers.

Keyontae Johnson
Though he finished his collegiate playing career elsewhere, Johnson is a proud Florida graduate and will always be a part of Gator Nation. He was selected in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder and earned a two-way contract.

Coaches

Billy Donovan
Billy Donovan begins his ninth season as an NBA head coach and fourth with the Chicago Bulls. He has twice been named NBA Coach of the Month for his conference and finished third in the 2019-20 NBA Coach of the Year voting.

Mark Daigneault
A former Florida staffer under Donovan, Mark Daigneault begins his fourth season as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he succeeded Donovan. Daigneault, 38, finished second in NBA Coach of the Year voting last season.

Corey Brewer
A champion at the collegiate and NBA level, Brewer enters his fourth season as a player development coach for the New Orleans Pelicans after he wrapped a 13-year NBA playing career.

Schuyler Rimmer
The Orlando native begins his second season as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers following a four-year stint on staff with the Milwaukee Bucks as a video coordinator and player development coach.

Billy Schmidt
An assistant to the head coach at UF in 2014-15, Billy Schmidt continues his tenure as an assistant coach on Donovan's staff.

Mike Weinar
A graduate assistant on the Gators' back-to-back championship teams, Weinar begins his third season as assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers following 13 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, the last six as assistant coach.

Front Office/Basketball Operations

Daniel Starkman
A manager on the Gators' 2014 Final Four team, Starkman has worked his way up the Atlanta Hawks organization and this past summer was named general manager of the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta's G League team.

Billy Donovan III
The younger Billy Donovan, who competed as a walk-on at UF, serves as senior video coordinator on the Chicago Bulls, also working previous stints with the Phoenix Suns and the G League's Austin Spurs.

R.C. Buford
A Florida assistant coach during the 1994 Final Four run, Buford begins his 22nd season as general manager of the San Antonio Spurs.

Kenny McCraney
A Florida assistant coach from 1982-89, McCraney is the Miami Heat Senior Director of Player Programs. He has been with the Heat organization since 1999.

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