University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Six Former UCLA Players Headed to NBA Playoffs
April 17, 2026 | Men's Basketball
Six former UCLA men's basketball standouts have helped lead their NBA teams into the NBA playoffs this month, including three student-athletes who have competed at UCLA since 2022.
Kyle Anderson (2013-14) and Jaylen Clark (2021-23) of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Adem Bona (2023-24) of the Philadelphia 76ers, Aaron Holiday (2016-18) of the Houston Rockets, Jrue Holiday (2009) of the Portland Trail Blazers and Peyton Watson (2022) of the Denver Nuggets are all headed to the NBA postseason.
The NBA playoffs open on Saturday, April 17. Four of the league's eight series will tip-off this Saturday, while the other four series are scheduled to open on Sunday, April 18. Each of the eight first-round NBA series are in a best-of-seven game format (first team to win four games, potentially lasting seven total games).
Anderson and Clark, with Minnesota, have helped the Timberwolves secure the No. 6 seed in the West. Minnesota will be facing No. 3-seed Denver, which features fourth-year NBA player Peyton Watson. Selected in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft, Watson has averaged career highs in points per game (14.6), rebounds per game (4.9) and assists per game (2.1).
Anderson was acquired in a trade later in the 2025-26 season by Minnesota. Through 43 games this season, he has averaged 6.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Clark has averaged 4.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game in 68 contests for the Timberwolves.
One of UCLA's most durable NBA players, Jrue Holiday will be leading Portland as the No. 7 seed in the West (facing No. 2-seed San Antonio). Holiday has averaged 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 53 games (51 starts) in his 17th NBA season. He has shot 45.1 percent from the field and 37.8 percent form 3-point territory.
Jrue Holiday's younger brother, Aaron Holiday, has helped Houston secure the No. 5 seed in the West (facing the No. 4-seeded Los Angeles Lakers). Aaron Holiday has averaged 5.5 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 57 games with Houston. He is currently in his eighth year in the NBA after having led UCLA and the Pac-12 Conference in scoring as a junior in 2017-18.
Bona, now in his second year with the Philadelphia 76ers, helped Philadelphia secure the No. 7 seed in the East with a 109-97 win over the Orlando Magic in a play-in contest on Wednesday, April 15. Bona averaged 4.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 71 games with the 76ers this season.
In all, UCLA's program had 14 former players competing in the NBA during the 2025-26 season. Twelve of those were on NBA rosters when the season ended in mid-April. In addition to the six aforementioned Bruins in the postseason, UCLA also had a pair of former standouts with the Miami Heat in the NBA's play-in tournament – Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Norman Powell. The Heat lost to the Charlotte Hornets, 127-126, in an overtime contest at Charlotte on Tuesday, April 14.
Jaquez Jr. concluded his third NBA season having averaged a career-high 15.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in 75 contests. Powell, who concluded his 11th NBA season, averaged 21.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 58 contests with Miami.
