The NBA playoffs kicked off on Saturday afternoon and they are in full swing again on Sunday.

If you've been watching through the first two days, you've noticed something interesting: There is very limited Syracuse basketball representation playing in these playoffs.

Gone are the days, apparently, of SU alums like Carmelo Anthony (83 games) and Derrick Coleman (39 games) filling up the NBA playoff landscape. Heck, even Rony Seikaly played in 14 career playoff games.

But this year? Almost nothing.

It's hard to have many players in the playoffs when there's almost no Syracuse players in the league at all anymore.

Jerami Grant was one of only two Orange alums to play in the NBA this regular season. The 6'7' Grant played in 57 games and averaged 18.6 points per game for the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers are the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, making him the lone Orange alum to be suiting up this spring.

Before embarking on his NBA journey, the now 32-year-old played two seasons in Central New York. In 72 total games for Syracuse, Grant averaged 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds. An All-ACC Honorable Mention selection in 2014, Grant was drafted in the second round by the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Furthermore, Buddy Boeheim spent just four games with the Oklahoma City Thunder before being waived in March. He averaged 1.5 ppg in that time. 

Since leaving Syracuse, Boeheim has played in 24 NBA games, although 20 games were with his former team, the Detroit Pistons. In his NBA career, Boeheim has posted 2.3 points per game. 

The son of former Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, Buddy played four seasons in Central New York under his Hall of Fame's fathers tutelage. 

An All-ACC First Team selection in his senior season, Boeheim ranks second in program history in career three-point field goals and third in three-point percentage. 

It shouldn't. Sure, Jim Boeheim (at the end) and Adrian Autry had trouble producing NBA players, but new head coach Gerry McNamara will have an opportunity to reverse that trend. Assuming McNamara is able to improve the program, better recruits will want to join it, either out of high school or via the transfer portal. That should re-spawn the Orange-to-NBA pipeline.

While some current recruits might be turned off by the lack of recent NBA success, others can be motivated by different things like NIL, program history, playing time, NCAA Tournament opportunities and more.

Only four players in the history of the Syracuse men's basketball program have gone on to win an NBA championship. The most recent? In 2024, when Oshae Brissett was a member of the Boston Celtics. Brissett played in 10 games for the Celtics that postseason, including an appearance in the NBA Finals. Brissett's 2024 NBA Finals  action marked the first time in 44 years a former Syracuse player had played in the championship round. Marty Byrnes played and won a championship for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980. 

The other two Orange champions? Dion Waiters from 2020 (Los Angeles Lakers) and Billy Gabor in 1955 (Syracuse Nationals).

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