Zags in the Pros Update

With the NBA season just getting underway and European leagues mostly in full swing, it seems like a good time to catch up on how former Zags are doing in their pro careers.

Domantas Sabonis: Domas has been off to a hot start for the Indiana Pacers, averaging 21.8 points, 11 rebounds, and 7.3 assists in the team’s first four games. He garnered the season’s first Eastern Conference Player of the Week award after recording a triple double and 32 point game in Pacers wins.

Brandon Clarke: Clarke had his best game of the young season in a win over Brooklyn on Tuesday, scoring 16 points and pulling down seven rebounds. He is averaging 10 points and four boards for Memphis so far.

Kelly Olynyk: Olynyk has appeared in two of Miami’s first three games this season, picking up five points and two steals in each game. Now in his eighth NBA season, Kelly also had 8 total rebounds in those two games.

NBA Injury Report: Rui Hachimura, Zach Collins, and Killian Tillie are all currently sidelined with various ailments at the start of the season. Rui missed the first few games of the season with pink eye in both eyes (ouch), but is expected to return this week. Collins is likely to be out until mid-January after undergoing ankle surgery in the offseason. Tillie, who is on a two-way deal with Memphis, is recovering from a mild hamstring injury. He will most likely head to the G-League if their season starts, where broadcasters across the league will remind everyone of his volleyball playing lineage.

Kevin Pangos: Now in his fifth season abroad, Pangos is once again excelling in Europe, this year suiting up for Russian squad Zenit St. Petersburg. Pangos is averaging 11 points and 6.5 assists through 21 games, including 23 and 7 in the EuroLeague season opener in October.

Kyle Wiltjer: Wiltjer is playing this year with Turk Telekom in the Turkish Super League, and is off to a good start, averaging 18 points and six rebounds, while shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc.

Johnathan Williams: Williams is also in the Turkish Super League, suiting up for Galatasaray. He is scoring 10.4 points a game and pulling down 7.6 boards, with season highs of 17 and 11.

Wiltjer and Williams squared off on November 21, with Turk Telekom defeating Galatasaray 91-89. Wiltjer scored 18 in the win.

Jeremy Jones: Jones is in his first season with Crailsheim of the German Bundesliga, averaging six points in 15 minutes a game.

Silas Melson: Melson is off to a good start playing for Limburg in Belgium, averaging 19 points, three rebounds, and three assists in the team’s first two games.

Nigel Williams-Goss: After being waived by the Utah Jazz a few weeks ago, Williams-Goss is reportedly close to signing a contract with Lokomotiv Kuban of the Russian VTB league, the same domestic league as Pangos’s Zenit squad.

*Stats as of the end of play on Dec. 29.*