NBA Players Stop by, Play with Gamecocks in SC Pro-AM

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As current and incoming Gamecocks look to improve their games over the summer months, they head to Heathwood Hall to play in the sixth-annual SC Pro-Am.

But Chris Silva and Rakym Felder were in for a challenge Tuesday night unlike anything the league’s ever seen in the better half of a decade.

Charleston native, Porter-Gaud alum, and starting guard for the Milwaukee Bucks Khris Middleton became the first active NBA player to ever participate in a league game, leading Bernie’s Chicken to a 99-96 overtime win over Sellers Governors.

A five-year vet out of Texas A&M, Middleton scored a game-high 36 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, while current Carolina guard Hassani Gravett added 17 in the win. Silva scored a team-high 30 to go with 12 rebounds and 5 blocks in the losing effort. Felder contributed 17 points.

For Pro-Am Commisioner, former USC guard Carey Rich, seeing Middleton don one of his league’s jersey was a moment that’s validated years of hard work.

Another pro player just starting to establish his run in the NBA was on hand at Heathwood Hall Tuesday. Former Gamecocks guard PJ Dozier had just returned from his Summer League stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, who won the Las Vegas title late Monday night. The Columbia native flew back home from Sin City and went straight to the gym to support his friends and former teammates.

Play continues in the SC Pro-Am this Thursday at 6 p.m. over at Heathwood Hall.