UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Five Penn State men's basketball alumni will represent the Nittany Lions when the 2023-24 NBA season tips off this week. Lamar Stevens '20 (Boston Celtics), Jalen Pickett '23 (Denver Nuggets) and Seth Lundy '23 (Atlanta Hawks) are all on NBA rosters, while Calvin Booth '98 is set for his fourth season as General Manager of the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets and Andrew Jones '11, M '15 begins his first season as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors.
Pickett and Booth's Nuggets open the 2023-24 NBA season Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. when defending champion Denver hosts the Los Angeles Lakers. Stevens' Celtics, Lundy's Hawks and Jones' Raptors all open their 2023-24 seasons Wednesday evening.
Lamar Stevens – Boston Celtics
Stevens signed with the Celtics in September after spending his first three seasons in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stevens appeared in 165 career games (38 starts) with the Cavs from 2020-23 and owns NBA career averages of 5.3 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 46.7 percent from the field. The former Nittany Lion averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 15 minutes per game in the Celtics' four preseason contests.
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.
Jalen Pickett – Denver Nuggets
Pickett enters his rookie season with the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets after being drafted by Denver in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft with the 32nd overall pick, becoming the highest-drafted Nittany Lion in the modern era of the two-round NBA Draft that dates back to 1989. Pickett shined in NBA Summer League, averaging 12.4 points, 5.6 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game this summer, and saw action in all five of the Nuggets' preseason games this month.
Pickett's collegiate career culminated in a Consensus All-American season in 2022-23 as he averaged 17.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg and 6.6 apg with a 50.8 FG%, becoming the first Division I men's college basketball player since at least the 1992-93 season to average 17/7/6 or better while shooting at least 50% from the field. Pickett finished his five-year collegiate career with marks of 2,207 points (15.3 ppg), 780 rebounds (5.4 rpg), 841 assists (5.8 apg), 178 steals and 115 blocks. The Rochester, N.Y. native was the only Division I men's basketball player since at least the 1985-86 season to have accumulated career marks of 2,000+ career points, 700+ career rebounds and 800+ career assists. He tallied 1,068 points, 407 rebounds and 378 assists through just 68 games in a Penn State uniform, reaching his 1,000th point at Penn State in just 65 games, while leading Penn State to 2023 NCAA Tournament and Big Ten Tournament Championship game appearances.
Seth Lundy – Atlanta Hawks
Lundy begins his rookie season in the NBA after being selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft with the 46th overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks. Lundy had a strong showing in NBA Summer League, averaging 8.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this summer. The Paulsboro, N.J. native saw action in all five of the Hawks' preseason games this month and came up with several clutch performances, including the game-sealing block in a one-point win against Memphis.
Lundy completed his four-year Penn State career in 2022-23 after putting together a career-best season as a senior, finishing the season with 14.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and leading Penn State to 2023 NCAA Tournament and Big Ten Tournament Championship game appearances. He proved to be one of the most efficiently productive players in the country, as one of only five Division I players to tally 10+ points per game and 6+ rebounds per game while shooting at least 50% from two-point range (53.3%), 40% from three-point range (40.0%) and 80% from the free throw line (80.7%). Lundy finished his Penn State career ranking sixth all-time in school history in career 3-pointers (229), ninth in career free throw percentage (81.4 FT%) and 20th in career points (1,283). He became the 39th member of Penn State's 1,000-career point club on Jan. 11, 2023.
Calvin Booth – General Manager – Denver Nuggets
Booth, the front office mastermind behind Denver's first title run in franchise history in 2023, returns for his fourth season as the General Manager of the Nuggets. Booth was named General Manager of the Nuggets in July 2020 and signed a multi-year extension in Oct. 2022. He 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 then-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.
Andrew Jones – Assistant Coach/Player Development – Toronto Raptors
Jones begins his first season as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors. He spent the last two seasons as Assistant Coach of Player Development with the Detroit Pistons. He previously served as a player development coach with the Philadelphia 76ers for two years and was with the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2014-19 as a player development coach, video analyst and assistant with their G League affiliate.
Jones was a four-year starter during his time in Happy Valley, finishing his career as the school's 12th-leading rebounder. The Philadelphia native played a key role in leading Penn State to the 2009 NIT Championship, averaging 10 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in that postseason run, before helping guide the Nittany Lions to the 2011 NCAA Tournament. He later returned to Penn State as a graduate assistant in 2013 and received a master's degree in educational leadership before playing professionally overseas for several years.
