Kevin Durant Praises Former Pitt Star

PITTSBURGH -- NBA star Kevin Durant gave great praise to one of the top rookies in the NBA and a former Pitt Panthers star.

Bub Carrington, who played for Pitt last season, is now a rookie with the Washington Wizards and has had a great campaign so far.

He leads all NBA rookies with 30.1 minutes per game, while ranking second with 4.0 assists per game, tied for second with 1.5 3-pointers per game, tied for fourth with 0.7 steals per game, fifth with both 4.3 rebounds per game and 33.7% shooting from behind the arc and seventh with both 8.8 points per game and 81.5% shooting from the free throw line.

Carrington met Durant in his most recent game, as they hosted the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 16, a 130-123 victory for the road team.

Durant was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in nearby Prince George's County, always having a love for his hometown.

Carrington grew up in Baltimore and played for powerhouse Saint Frances Academy, who just retired his high school jersey.

Durant wanted to show love to Carrington postgame, writing a message on his jersey and having an attendant give it to Carrington.

He spoke to Bijan Todd of Monumental Sports Network about giving Carrington the jersey, which stems from his love for all basketball players from the area.

"Yeah. Bub was, I watched him at Pitt, I've watched him throughout the season so far," Durant said. "Just love his enthusiasm for the game. I always want to see the hometown kids, kids that come from Maryland, Baltimore, D.C., I want to see them do well in the league. So he playing back at home, I know that's a lot of pressure on him, it's tough to do. So just want to see him do well."

I asked Kevin Durant about this.

He watched Carrington at Pitt and loves his “enthusiasm for the game.”

“I always wanna see the hometown kids — kids that come from Baltimore, Maryland, DC — I wanna see them do well in the league.”

That’s pretty awesome. Respect to KD 👊 https://t.co/AzeS9vgKxv pic.twitter.com/kLtllnl3tu
— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) January 17, 2025

Carrington starred for the Panthers last season, earning All-ACC Rookie Team honors, the first Panther to do so.

He started all 33 games for Pitt, averaging 33.2 minutes, 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, respectively, while shooting 41.2% from the field, 32.2% from 3-point range and 78.5% from the foul line.

One of his best games came in the season opener, as he scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 10 assists in the win over North Carolina A&T, becoming the first Panther to have a triple-double in their debut in program history.

Carrington came to the Wizards in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Wizards got the No. 14 pick (Carrington) in a trade that sent Deni Avdija to the Trail Blazers. They also received Malcolm Brogdon, a 2029 First Round pick and two second round picks.

He is part of a stellar rookie class for the Wizards, including French center Alex Sarr (No. 2 overall) and Miami forward Kyshawn George (No. 24 overall), who hails from Switzerland.

Carrington has also crafted a strong relationship with former Pitt forward Justin Champagnie (2019-21), who has started 14 contests for the Wizards this season.

He has built off of what was an impressive NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in July. He averaged 32.6 minutes, 15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting 32.9% from the field, 35.9% from 3-point range and 86.4% from the foul line, which helped him earn NBA 2K25 All-Summer League Second Team honors.

Carrington was the first Pitt player to go in the first round since center Steven Adams did so when the Oklahoma City Thunder selected him with the No. 12 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

He was also the first Panther to earn an NBA Draft selection since the Atlanta Hawks took Lamar Patterson in the second round in 2014.

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