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Former Tennessee basketball players on NBA opening day rosters
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- Former Tennessee basketball players on NBA opening day rosters
The NBA opened its 2025-26 season Tuesday as the league began its 80th season. Six former Tennessee basketball players are on opening day NBA rosters.
Former Vols in the NBA include Dalton Knecht ( Lakers ), Tobias Harris ( Detroit ), Chaz Lanier (Detroit), Julian Phillips ( Chicago ), Jaden Springer ( New Orleans ) and Grant Williams (Charlotte).
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Tennessee has produced 57 NBA players, including 10 since 2019.
Knecht is in his third season with the Lakers after being selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft (No. 17 overall).
After one year with the Vols, Lanier was selected in the second round of the 2025 NBA draft (No. 37 overall) by the Pistons. He averaged 10.4 points per game in the NBA Summer League.
Harris enters his 15th professional season and is in his second stint with the Pistons. In his previous 14 seasons, Harris has played in 970 games. He has converted 1,309 three-point attempts, and recorded 5,969 rebounds and 2,293 assists.
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Phillips begins his third season in Chicago. He appeared in 79 games last season after playing in 40 contests during his rookie 2023-24 season.
Springer enters his fifth season and is playing for his fourth team with the Pelicans . He played for Boston and Utah last season.
Williams, a two-time SEC Player of the Year during his career with the Vols, is in his third team after playing for Boston and Dallas .
More: 2025-26 Tennessee men's basketball schedule, TV, tipoff times
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Six former Vols open 2025-26 season on NBA rosters
