The NBA Finals is about to embark on the ultimate rematch of the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers later tonight. The teams met in the 2015 and 2016 NBA Finals as well, with the Warriors winning the series in six games back in ’15, and then the Cavaliers winning the series in seven in ‘16. But this time around, a piece of St. Louis will be represented in the 2017 NBA Finals. That would be Patrick McCaw.
McCaw, the shooting guard, was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. He attended Christian Brothers College High School (CBC) for the first three years of his high school career. McCaw then transferred to Montrose Christian School in Maryland for his senior year, home of notable basketball alumni such as McCaw’s current teammate Kevin Durant and other current NBA players such as Terrance Ross and Justin Anderson. McCaw helped lead Montrose to a National Christian School Athletic Association Division I title in his senior year.
McCaw while at CBC. Photo by Andrew Jansen/ STLhighschoolsports.com.
Coming out of high school, McCaw was ranked the 38th best shooting guard in the country, and the fourth best player in Missouri. McCaw fielded offers from schools such as Mizzou, Florida State, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, UNLV, and Wichita State among others. McCaw eventually chose to attend UNLV, where he would play for two seasons.
In his two seasons with the Rebels, McCaw averaged 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.2 steals, and played in 32.7 minutes a game on average. Noted for his tremendous defense, in which he had the second most steals in the nation in his sophomore year, McCaw was named to the Second Team All-Mountain West as well as the Mountain West All-Defense Team. After his sophomore year, McCaw declare for the NBA Draft.
McCaw slipped in the draft, as many scouts thought he would be drafted much earlier than he was. McCaw was taken with the 38th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. Soon after being drafted, McCaw was traded to the Golden State Warriors for cash considerations, an amount that amounted to be about $2.4 million.
In his rookie season, McCaw appeared in 71 of 82 games for the Warriors, and even started 20 of those games. Coming off the bench for the most part, McCaw averaged 4.0 points per game, 1.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and played an average of 15.1 minutes per game. In a February matchup against the Denver Nuggets, McCaw started in place of Klay Thompson and scored a season and career high 19 points.
McCaw has played in 10 of the 12 Warriors playoff games during their playoff run, including starts in Games 2 & 3 of the opening round, and in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. In Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, McCaw put up 18 points off the bench, where he shot 6 of 8 from the field. Throughout the playoffs this year, McCaw has averaged 5.0 points per game, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists and has been a valuable contributor off the bench for Golden State.
Starting tonight, McCaw will be the lone representative of St. Louis in the NBA Finals. His strong bench contributions could help push the Warriors to their second NBA Championship in the last three seasons. If you have no strong rooting interest for the NBA Finals, maybe this will help you pick a side. McCaw could become the second ever NBA player from St. Louis to win an NBA Championship, next to David Lee, the Chaminade product who won a title with the Warriors in 2015.
