Villanova in the Pros: Postseason Approaching for Six Wildcats

With the final week of the 2025-26 NBA regular season upon us, six former Villanova athletes are on their way to a postseason berth.

The New York Knicks, home of national champions Jalen Brunson (an All-Star averaging 26.0 PPG and 6.8 APG), Josh Hart (11.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.9 APG) and Mikal Bridges (14.7 PPG, 3.7 APG), currently hold the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. With a one game cushion, a game in hand and three games remaining, they could fall behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and into fourth place, giving them something to play for as the regular season winds down.

40-year-old Kyle Lowry (13 games played) is in line for a play-in berth and the No. 7 seed with the Philadelphia 76ers in what is almost certainly his last season as a pro: they have room to supplant Toronto, one game ahead of them, and secure a playoff spot, but could also fall as far as the No. 10 seed.

Over in the Western Conference, Donte DiVincenzo (12.3 PPG, 3.9 APG) and the Minnesota Timberwolves have the No. 6 seed secured, while Collin Gillespie’s (12.9 PPG, 4.8 APG) Phoenix Suns are almost certain to enter the play-in tournament as the No. 7 seed.

Elsewhere in the NBA, former Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune has a chance to help the Charlotte Hornets end the longest active playoff drought in the NBA. Neptune joined Charlotte as an assistant in the offseason and, as they have a play-in berth locked up, two wins will punch their ticket to the main playoff field. The Hornets currently hold the No. 9 seed and, while they could conceivably jump as high as No. 6, they’d need to supplant a number of teams to do so