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Braxton Key Converted to Standard Contract, Joins Warriors for NBA Playoffs

Matt Newton

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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Former Virginia basketball star Braxton Key had his two-way contract converted to a standard contract by the Golden State Warriors and he will be added to the team's 15-man roster for the NBA postseason. Key, who was named the G League's Defensive Player of the Year earlier this month, will be available to play for the Warriors in their play-in game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night and in subsequent NBA playoff games should they make it.

Key spent time with both the San Diego Clippers and Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League this season, averaging 18.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.9 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in 33 total appearances. He was voted the G League Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in steals with 94 in the regular season.

Key played with the Clippers until March 4th, when he signed a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors. He played in three games for the Warriors this season, but played just 11 total minutes and scored three total points. Through the first four seasons of his professional career, Key has played in 37 total games at the NBA level for the Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets, and now the Golden State Warriors.

Key transferred from Alabama to Virginia in 2018 and helped the Cavaliers win the 2019 National Championship. He went undrafted in 2020 and has mostly played in the G League since then. This is his first standard NBA contract, but it is only a one-year deal that will expire at the end of the season, so Key will be a free agent this summer.

The Golden State Warriors are the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and they will take on the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies, who have Key's former Virginia teammate Jay Huff on their roster, in a play-in game on Tuesday at 10pm ET in San Francisco (TNT). The winner of that game will secure the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will take on the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets in the first round. The loser of the Warriors-Grizzlies game will have another chance to make the playoffs, taking on the loser of No. 9 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 10 Dallas Mavericks in another play-in game. The winner of that game will be the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in a first round series.

With Braxton Key being added to a playoff roster, there are now five former Virginia men's basketball players on the rosters of teams who are competing in the NBA postseason. We've already mentioned Key joining the Warriors and Huff on the Grizzlies. In the Eastern Conference playoffs, De'Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome are leading the bench mob for the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, while Sam Hauser will look to help the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics defend their title.

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.