The NBA season tips off Tuesday, and former Tennessee players are spread across opening day rosters as the league gets rolling.
The first game on the slate sends the Boston Celtics to Detroit at 3 p.m. ET.
Later, the defending champion New York Knicks host the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. ET, and the night wraps with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the San Antonio Spurs at 9:30 p.m.
ET.
Among the former Vols in the mix are rookie Ja’Kobi Gillespie and veteran Tobias Harris, who are both rostered on the Spurs to begin the year. They’re part of a group of eight former Tennessee basketball players who made NBA opening day rosters this season.
The rest of that group includes rookies Nate Ament and Felix Okpara, along with Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack, Julian Phillips and Grant Williams. Dalton Knecht was waived by the Los Angeles Lakers, but he is also expected to be picked up at some point.
Here’s the full list of former Tennessee players on opening day rosters:
Chaz Lanier
NBA Team: Detroit Pistons
Year(s) at UT: 1 (2024-25)
Year(s) in NBA: 2
2026 NBA Stats: 2.4 points, 0.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists
Jahmai Mashack
NBA Team: Memphis Grizzlies
Year(s) at UT: 4 (2021-25)
Year(s) in NBA: 2
2026 NBA Stats: 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists
Julian Phillips
NBA Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Year(s) at UT: 1 (2022-23)
Year(s) in NBA: 4
2026 NBA Stats: 2.9 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.2 assists
Grant Williams
NBA Team: Charlotte Hornets
Year(s) at UT: 3 (2016-19)
Year(s) in NBA: 8
2026 NBA Stats: 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Tobias Harris
Ja’Kobi Gillespie
Nate Ament
Felix Okpara
In Other News...
Tennessees Alabama High Faces A Brutal Test At South Carolina
The bounce from Tennessees upset of then-No. 6 Alabama still matters, and it has pushed the Volunteers up to No. 11 in the latest AP Poll. But the reset comes quickly in Week 8, where a trip to South Carolina asks whether that statement win is the start of a surge or just one sharp night in a long SEC grind.
South Carolina has its own headliner waiting in quarterback LaNorris Sellers, a player already drawing attention as a potential 2027 NFL Draft pick and a central reason the Gamecocks are a dangerous matchup at home. The game figures to hinge on how Tennessee handles that challenge, and with the breakdown leaning toward South Carolina, the Vols are walking into one of those tests that can say a lot about how real their rise actually is. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessees Alabama Win Just Earned Even More SEC Respect
The win over Alabama did more than just energize Tennessees sideline and fan base. It also drew a fresh round of SEC recognition, with the league honoring a pair of Vols for the kind of performance that helped swing one of the conferences biggest games of the season.
Ty Weathersby and Cooper Ranvier were both singled out after the rivalry win, giving Tennessee a little more proof that its best players showed up when the stakes were highest. Weathersby was one of the tone-setters up front, while Ranvier kept the Vols on the board early and provided the kind of scoring cushion that can matter in a game like that. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Made Alabama's Misery Impossible To Ignore
Alabamas latest trip to Knoxville did more than add another loss to the ledger. It stirred up a familiar kind of frustration around the Crimson Tide, with callers on The Paul Finebaum Show sounding off in the aftermath and turning the spotlight squarely onto the state of the program.
The anger centered on the current coaching setup, with Kalen DeBoer, Ryan Grubb and Greg Byrne all drawing criticism from a fan base that is clearly running out of patience. With Tennessee now having won three straight over Alabama in Knoxville, the conversation around the rivalry has shifted from one bad night to a broader unease about where the Tide are headed. [Read more 🡒]