The NBA is back. Tonight, the 2026-27 season tips off with a three-game slate. For Stanford, multiple alums will be on hand for the start of the season, either as coaches or players, on NBA teams.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson headlines the list of Cardinal alums in the pros, coming off an NBA Finals appearance. The Spurs are a young team and are expected to be contenders once again. 

Here is the full list of Stanford Cardinal alums in the NBA to start the season.

The newest Stanford alum in the NBA, Okorie burst onto the scene in his lone season on The Farm and was drafted No. 17 overall in this year's NBA Draft. The Pistons are coming off a 60-win season where they made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals and are a team on a mission this season.

Okorie joins a team with a crowded backcourt, but his skillset will make it hard to keep him off the floor. He averaged 23.2 points at Stanford last season and earned First-team All-ACC and ACC All-Rookie team honors.

Raynaud's rise to stardom took some time, but he took the college basketball world by storm in his final season on The Farm.

After he entered the transfer portal ahead of his senior season, head coach Kyle Smith got him to stay at Stanford, and in the 2024-25 season, he averaged over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, earning First-team All-ACC honors. A second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, he became a key starter for Sacramento down the stretch.

Playing in 74 games as a rookie, starting 56, he averaged 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, earning NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors and making the case for being the steal of the draft. He enters this season as a cornerstone player on a rebuilding Kings team, though he is currently dealing with a knee injury. 

Jones was not a flashy player during his five-season stint on The Farm, but his reputation of being a durable wing who can shoot, play versatile defense, and lead has transitioned nicely to the pros, helping him earn another spot on a Nuggets' opening night roster.

He went undrafted in 2024, but Jones signed a two-way deal with Denver. After starting off in the G League, he got called up to the NBA late in the 2024-25 season.

In his first full year in the league last season, he averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 64 games played, proving himself to be a key bench player. Now, he will look to contribute even more as Denver searches for its second title.

Lopez played at Stanford for two seasons from 2006 to 2008, at a time when the program was a consistent NCAA tournament contender.

He led the Cardinal to the Sweet Sixteen in 2007-08, averaging 19.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists en route to earning First-team All-Pac-10 honors and Third-team All-American honors. The Nets franchise selected him No. 10 overall in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Now in his 18th season, the 38-year-old big man is an NBA champion and an NBA All-Star, and is looking to make an impact for the Clippers this season. Lopez is nearing the end of his career, but he is still productive and has carved out a successful career for himself.

Williams, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, spent one season at Stanford. In his lone season on The Farm, he averaged 10.7 points per game off the bench. Spending the first three seasons of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies, he was an important player for their bench.

Williams was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in July 2024 and spent two seasons there, starting a career-high 45 games in his first year with the team.

Williams signed with the Lakers this offseason, ushering in a new era of Lakers basketball post-LeBron James. Still only 25 years old, Williams hopes to evolve into a cornerstone piece for the Lakers for years to come.

Johnson played point guard for Stanford from 2005 to 2009 and was a star player for most of his tenure. However, he was unable to make it to the NBA, instead playing in the NBA G League (then known as the D-League) for the Tulsa 66ers and overseas for a team in Latvia.

Retiring as a player after 2010-11 to pursue coaching, he got his first coaching job in college with the Seattle Redhawks before becoming an assistant at the University of Portland.

Moving up the ranks on the Spurs' staff, he took over as the coach in the wake of Gregg Popovich's health issues. After going 32-45 as the acting coach in 2024-25, Johnson led the team to a 62-20 record last season and made it to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.

San Antonio lost in five games to the New York Knicks and is eager to return to the big stage this season.