Nebraska Basketball's Juwan Gary to Play For Los Angeles Clippers in Summer League

Gary played three seasons at Nebraska after spending his first three seasons of college basketball at Alabama under coach Nate Oats. The forward joined the Huskers in 2022 and made an immediate impact, averaging 9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and a team-high 1.4 steals per game in Nebraska's first 17 contests before suffering a season-ending injury. Gary then appeared in 28 games with 20 starts in his junior season, averaging 11.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. The forward was a notable defensive presence in his early tenure in Lincoln, primarily guarding the opposing team's best player and leading the 2023-24 Huskers with 0.8 blocks and 1.1 steals per contest.

Nebraska would make the NCAA Tournament in 2024 as Gary stepped up his offensive numbers, setting career best in scoring, assists, three-pointers, three-pointer percentage, and free throw percentage. The South Carolina native reached double figures 16 times in the season, and pushed Nebraska in a Big Ten Tournament run with an 11-point, six-rebound performance in the opener against Indiana.

Gary capped his senior season with Nebraska averaging a career-best 14.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game while earning a spot on the 2025 College Basketball Crown All-Tournament Team and claiming the College Basketball Crown King of the Crown honor for Nebraska's tournament title. In his final seven games for Nebraska, Gary averaged 20.7 points per contest on 55 percent shooting and 7.3 rebounds per contest. He ended his Husker tenure with 20 points and eight rebounds against UCF in the College Basketball Crown title game, securing a victory and College Basketball Crown championship for Nebraska.

During the postseason run, Gary was already looking forward to the next steps towards a potential professional basketball career.

“We have a lot of NBA guys, who have been in the league as players, coaches, strength and conditioning,” Gary said during his season-closing press conference in April. “We got all of the knowledge that we need to be pro. Every day is a pro day. Practice is a pro day, lifting, nutrition, sleep. Everything we do is professional.”

“The experience our staff has, it at least helps prepare guys,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. “I never guarantee to kids that they will play in the NBA, but they are looking for any little advantage they can get, and with the experience we have, we feel we can help.

Gary was not invited to the NBA Combine, but did receive other opportunities to work out for individual teams including the Los Angeles Clippers. Summer League competitions begin in San Francisco and Salt Lake City on July 5 and run through July 8, while the main NBA Summer League begins in Las Vegas on Thursday, July 10 through the 20 including all 30 NBA teams.

More From Nebraska On SI