It will not be Evan Mobley, but there will be a Trojan in the NBA Finals this year. On Saturday night, Jordan McLaughlin and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals to advance to the league’s biggest stage.
McLaughlin is primarily a bench player for San Antonio, and played just 22 minutes during the seven-game series. However, he impressed with six points in Game 2 and four rebounds in Game 6, both of which he did in just seven minutes of action.
McLaughlin played at USC from 2014-2018. He was one of the program’s first big recruits under former head coach Andy Enfield, and arrived at a time when USC was one of the worst teams in the Pac-12. During his four years with the Trojans, he helped lead the team to three consecutive seasons of over 20 victories and two trips to the NCAA Tournament. (Many thought that the Trojans deserved a third consecutive bid in 2018 and got screwed over by the selection committee.)
Despite not being selected in the 2018 NBA Draft, McLaughlin has managed to put together a very solid career in the league. He is now in his seventh season, having spent time with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, and now the Spurs.
Over the first six years of his career, McLaughlin advanced past the first round of the playoffs just once. Now, at age 30, he is heading to his first NBA Finals.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC men’s basketball alum Jordan McLaughlin headed to NBA Finals
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
