Now in his sixth (!!) NBA season, Xavier Tillman is probably wishing he never got traded away from his good friend and fellow Spartan in the NBA Jaren Jackson Jr.
At Michigan State, Tillman and Jackson Jr. were best friends, so when Jaren went to the league in 2018, Xavier probably couldn’t wait to join him. Tillman was one of Tom Izzo’s most developed players, going from borderline top-100 recruit to NBA prospect in three years, getting drafted in the second round by the Grizzlies in 2020.
During his three years at Michigan State, Tillman won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award, and was instrumental in the Spartans’ 2019 Final Four run.