UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men's basketball alumni Lamar Stevens and Calvin Booth will represent the Nittany Lions as the NBA Playoffs begin this weekend. Stevens '20 looks to help lead the Cleveland Cavaliers on the court, while Booth '98, the General Manager of the Denver Nuggets, leads the front office of the top-seeded team in the Western Conference.
Stevens, who signed a multi-year deal with the Cavs in April 2022, has played a crucial role in helping Cleveland make its first NBA Playoffs appearance since 2018 as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Stevens and Cleveland square off against the fifth-seeded New York Knicks in a best-of-seven series that begins on Saturday, April 15, at 6 p.m. on ESPN. Stevens saw action in 62 games for the Cavs this season while making 25 starts. He played a key rotational role, averaging 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in 18.1 minutes per contest.
A two-time first-team All-Big Ten Conference selection and team MVP, Stevens led the Nittany Lions in scoring in both his junior and senior campaigns and made critical contributions to help Penn State to its first Associated Press poll top-10 ranking since 1996. Stevens finished his career as Penn State's No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 2,207 career points. He was seven points shy of the school scoring record when the 2020 Big Ten Conference and NCAA Tournaments were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Booth leads the front office of the West's top-seeded Denver Nuggets. Booth was named General Manager of the Nuggets in July 2020 and signed a multi-year extension in Oct. 2022. The Nuggets open playoff action in the first game of a best-of-seven series on Sunday, April 16, at 10:30 p.m. on TNT. Denver will face the winner of Friday's Oklahoma City Thunder/Minnesota Timberwolves eight-seed NBA Play-In game.
Booth was previously Assistant General Manager with the Nuggets from 2017-2020. After a 10-year NBA playing career, he entered the front office with the New Orleans Pelicans as a scout in 2012 before working with the Minnesota Timberwolves as a scout and Director of Player Personnel from 2013-17. The 1998 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Booth was a three-year starter and two-time captain at Penn State. He holds the school record for career blocked shots (428). He led the Big Ten in blocks in all four years that he played, and his career total ranks second in conference history. After his senior season, Booth became the highest-drafted Nittany Lion in program history when he was taken as the 35th overall pick by the Washington Wizards in the 1999 NBA Draft.
