Officially, Coach Painter has another NBA player.
Tonight was a historic night for Purdue basketball. Dakota Mathias officially became the 38th player in school history to play in an NBA game, at least according to the Purdue record book. He came in late for the 76ers in Philadelphia’s 118-94 loss to the Cavaliers and made the most of his time. In just seven minutes he balled out, too. He finished with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists, leading his team in +/- with a +6.
Congratulations to Dakota Mathias (@DMathias31) on his first NBA points! @sixers | #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/VKqFMHF5ay
— Delaware Blue Coats (@blue_coats) December 28, 2020
If you can shoot the rock you will always get a chance in the NBA, and Dakota has earned his time after two years as an undrafted free agent in the G-League. He averaged 18.1 points per game last season with Austin.
This means that three of Purdue’s five starters from 2017-18 have now played in at least one NBA game. Vincent Edwards only got in twice for Houston in 2019, hitting a three-pointer. He still has a chance as he is currently with the Canton Charge of the G-League. The record for shortest career in the NBA for a Purdue player is Carl McNulty, who played in a single NBA game in 1955. I thought Isaac Haas might have a shot, but he is currently playing in China for the Guangzhou Long-Lions.
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