LEXINGTON, Ky. — Three more Wildcats have earned NBA opportunities.
The Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers signed guards Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, respectively, to free-agent contracts Thursday night. The Portland Trail Blazers then signed forward Andrew Carr Friday.
In last week's NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors selected guard Koby Brea at No. 41 and the Orlando Magic took center Amari Williams at No. 46. Brea had his rights traded to the Phoenix Suns while Williams had his rights traded to the Boston Celtics.
Butler came to Kentucky after scoring the game-winning buzzer beater to send San Diego State to the 2023 national championship game. He averaged 11.4 points, 4.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game in 2024-25.
The 6-foot-2 guard started all 27 games in which he appeared and was among the midseason finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. He scored double figures in 14 games, including a career-high 33 points and a perfect 10 of 10 in a 93-85 win over Louisville. That included a career-high six 3-pointers.
He was a 1,000-point scorer and a two-time Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year for San Diego State before his time as a Wildcat.
“I’m so proud of Lamont Butler,” UK head coach Mark Pope said. “He came and set records at Kentucky, while battling through injury and improving in just about every area of his game. Lamont has absolutely earned this opportunity.”
Robinson started all 24 games in which he appeared, averaging 13.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The 6-foot-6 guard was a finalist for the Julius Erving Award, honoring the nation's best small forward in 2024-25.
He scored double figures in 17 games before missing the final eight games of the season and the last 12 of 13 overall. Robinson also topped the 20-point mark on four occasions.
Prior to his time at Kentucky, he was the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year in 2023-24 with BYU and was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honoree.
“It has been one of the highlights of my coaching career to spend the last three seasons with Jaxson Robinson,” Pope said. “He was playing the best basketball of his career before his season was cut short, and I’m ecstatic that he has earned this very well-deserved opportunity.”
Carr, a 6-foot-11 forward, averaged 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in 2024-25. He reached double-figure scoring in 21 games and connected on 54.4% from the field.
He also had three double-double efforts, including 16 points and 12 rebounds in a 91-83 win March 8 against Missouri.
Carr started 68 games and averaged 12.1 points per games across two seasons at Wake Forest before joining Kentucky. The Pennsylvania native was also a leader off the court, earning Southeastern Conference Community Service Team accolades.
“Andrew’s leadership was an invaluable part of our success last season,” Pope said. “I’m so excited for him to take this next step because he is going to be an asset to any team both on the court and inside of the locker room.”
For the latest on all things 'Cats, check out the team's X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts and UKathletics.com.
Connor Smith - Digital Producer
Connor Smith is a digital producer for Spectrum News 1 in Louisville, Kentucky. He joined the team in November 2023 and hails from the Chicago area. In summer 2023, he received his Master of Science in Journalism from Northwestern's Medill School in Chicago, where he covered Super Bowl LVII, the Chicago Marathon and other stories around the city.