UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men’s basketball alumni Jalen Pickett (Denver Nuggets), Lamar Stevens (Memphis Grizzlies) and Seth Lundy (Los Angeles Clippers) will represent the Nittany Lions as the NBA postseason begins this week.
Stevens and the Grizzlies are the No. 8 seed in the West and will open action in the NBA Play-In Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors. Pickett and the fourth-seeded Nuggets and Lundy’s fifth-seeded Clippers team will square off in the first round of the NBA Playoffs on Saturday.
Jalen Pickett '23 – Denver Nuggets
Pickett is in his second season with the 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 has carved himself a key role over the last few months, including recording a triple-double on April 2 and scoring a career-best 18 points on April 9 while earning his first-career starts.
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.
Lamar Stevens ‘20 – Memphis Grizzlies
Stevens rejoined the Grizzlies in March and has averaged 4.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game through 17 games with Memphis. He went off for 31 points in the Grizzlies’ regular-season finale Sunday vs. Dallas. Stevens split time with the Grizzlies and the Celtics during the 2023-24 season after three years with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2020-23.
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.
Seth Lundy ’23 – Los Angeles Clippers
Lundy joined the Clippers on a two-way in March, but has battled injury throughout the year. He spent two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, who selected him with the 46th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
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.