In the Centennial State the rivalry between the Colorado and Colorado State basketball teams is a deep one. Two recent stars from the respective teams, CU’s KJ Simpson and CSU’s David Roddy, overlapped one season in their collegiate careers but the two front range teams did not play each other that year. On March 4 the Denver Nuggets signed Roddy to join a roster that already included Simpson. The two players have shared the court in a pair of Nuggets games this year, including in the regular season home finale in which Denver won its 11th straight home game, far and away the longest streak in the NBA. This year Simpson played in 14 games for the Hornets before ending the year with Denver and playing in six more. Denver is the sixth NBA team for Roddy, who saw action in five games and ended the regular season with a double-double at the Spurs.
In addition to Simpson and Roddy, there are nine other players who played collegiately in the state of Colorado that saw time in the NBA this season:
Nique Clifford (CU, CSU)– Played the second most games of any player for the Kings (77), including starting 28 of those, and averaged 8.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 2.4 apg.
Tristan Da Silva (CU)– Averaged 9.9 ppg and 3.7 rpg for the Magic, starting in 34 of the 77 games he played this season.
Dalton Knecht (Northeastern JC, Northern Colorado) – Played 54 games for the Lakers, averaging 4.2 ppg.
Lawson Lovering (CU)- Played just two games for the Grizzlies this season, but one of those was a game at Denver.
Isaiah Stevens (CSU)- A teammate of Clifford’s on the Kings, Stevens played in three games this season.
John Tonje (CSU)- Played in six games for the Celtics as a teammate of White’s in his first season in the NBA.
Jabari Walker (CU)– Played 64 games, starting six of those, for the 76ers.
Derrick White (CU-Colorado Springs, CU)- Started 77 games for the Celtics and is fourth in scoring (16.5 ppg) on the East’s second-best team.
Cody Williams (CU)– Started 41 times and played in 67 games for the Jazz this season, averaging 8.8 ppg.
