The Houston Cougars Are Represented in the 2026 NBA Playoffs
In this story:
Some of the greatest NBA players of all time were once Houston Cougars. The likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes and Clyde Drexler all donned the Cougar red during their college days.
Houston Cougars basketball has made its mark on the NBA throughout the years. The program has returned to prominence under coach Kelvin Sampson and has steadily become a pipeline for professional talent in the association.
The players keep on pouring in over the years to where it's become a strong group of former Houston products now in the NBA. Some of those players will now get an opportunity on one of the highest stages in basketball, the NBA Playoffs. These are the Cougars who are on teams participating in the playoffs.
Good Luck in the @NBA Playoffs
— Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) April 13, 2026
@LjCryer @m_sasser0 @qdotgrimes @Thejshead #NBACoogs#ForTheCity x #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/1KjDmso5BU
UH Cougars In The NBA Playoffs
There were six former Houston players who got NBA action this season, and four of them are now getting a chance to perform in the playoffs.
Jamal Shead has gone down as one of the greatest Houston Cougars in recent memory, having won the Big 12 Player and Defensive Player of the Year in his senior season at Houston in the first year of playing in the conference.
He was a true leader and point guard and has remained a big fan favorite. Shead currently has a strong role on the Toronto Raptors, the team that drafted him in a trade with the 45th overall pick back in 2024. The Raptors are the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Shead has played all 82 games this season, including 12 starts and averaged 6.6 points, 5.4 assists, 1.7 rebounds, and almost one steal per game. He's likely to get the most playing time among Houston products. Shead had a 22-point and six-assist night in an overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers in January and also had a 15-point and 13-rebound double-double that same month against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Quentim Grimes is a famous name at Houston given he was one of the players who helped propel the Cougars to their first Final Four since 1984 back in 2021 when he was a junior guard. Grimes was the leading scorer on that team with 17.8 PPG and almost six RPG while shooting over 40 percent from three.
Grimes played a huge role in getting Houston basketball prominent again and was the first UH player to earn an All-American honor since 1999. He was drafted 25th overall in 2021 by the New York Knicks in a trade with the Clippers.
Grimes is now on the 76ers and has played 75 games, including 19 starts and averages 13.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 3.3 APG. The Sixers are the seventh seed in the East and will begin in the Play-In. This is Grimes' second go-around in the playoffs after playing a role in 2023 with the Knicks.
Grimes has scored 20+ points 15 times this season and had a 31-point performance against the Portland Trail Blazers back in March. He also scored 20 against the Houston Rockets last week.
LJ Cryer just left Houston after the 2024-25 season, where he was the shooting guard on the UH team that went to the national championship game since 1984. While Cryer was not drafted after averaging 15.7 PPG and 42.4 percent from three as a fifth-year senior with Houston, he eventually signed a contract with the Golden State Warriors.
While Cryer is dealing with a left ankle sprain and will be reevaluated in a week, his playing time significantly increased with the Warriors throughout the season. If Golden State is able to get past the play-in tournament, Cryer could see his first NBA Playoff minutes. He had two 17-point performances in the 18 games he's played, including one start. Cryer averaged 8.2 PPG and shot 39% from three.
Marcus Sasser won the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year with the Cougars in his senior season of 2022-23. He was one of Houston's most famous guards in this recent run and averaged 16.8 PPG, 3.1 APG, and 2.8 RPG and spent all four seasons with the Cougars, like Shead did.
Sasser was drafted 25th overall by the Detroit Pistons in a trade in 2023 and is now in his third season in Motor City. Although his minutes and points have gone down, given the Pistons have a loaded roster and are true title contenders as the No. 1 seed in the East, Sasser can still play a role off the bench.
He's played in 38 games and gotten five starts while averaging 5.2 points and shooting 41.5 percent from three. Sasser had a 19-point game against the Los Angeles Lakers back in December.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.