Arizona grads Miles Simon, Quinton Crawford reach NBA Finals with Lakers

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Miles Simon is one step closer to another championship.

The Los Angeles Lakers finished off the Denver Nuggets on Saturday to advance to the 2020 NBA Finals. Simon, the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player in Arizona’s 1997 national championship run, is in his third year as an assistant coach with the Lakers, mostly serving in a player development role.

He is the only coach left over from the Luke Walton era. First-year head coach Frank Vogel retained Simon when the Lakers fired Walton after the 2018-19 season.

Los Angeles’ staff also features former Arizona walk-on Quinton Crawford, who was hired as an assistant in July after spending a season the Charlotte Hornets‘ head video coordinator. Before that, he had the same role with the Orlando Magic when Vogel was in charge there.

Crawford graduated from Arizona in 2013 with a general studies degree. He was part of UA basketball for two seasons (2013-15), appearing in nine games. The Wildcats went 50-20 over his two years and made it to the Sweet Sixteen in 2013.

After graduating from Arizona, Crawford spent two seasons as a graduate manager at Pepperdine, where he earned a master’s degree in educational psychology. The Old Bridge, New Jersey native was then an assistant video coordinator for the Sacramento Kings for a season before joining the Magic.

The UA could have two more representatives in the NBA Finals if Andre Iguodala, Solomon Hill and the Heat can stave off the Celtics. They hold a 3-2 lead heading into Game 6 on Sunday.

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