Update: Zabian Dowdell (LINK) made his NBA debut on Tuesday night!  He entered the game for the Phoenix Suns against the Denver Nuggets at the start of the 4th quarter.  Unfortunately, it took a 30-point deficit for the Suns to get Dowdell in.  After jumping out to a 32-20 lead at the end of one, Denver outscored Phoenix 82-40 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to turn the game into a woodshed beating.  He scored his first career points later on in the quarter, hitting a couple of free throws.  After missing his first three shots, Dowdell hit a 19-foot jumper for his first career field goal.  Zabe finished 1/6 (most were outside jumpers) with 4 points and added a rebound, 2 assists, and steal in 12 minutes.

This might not get the national fanfare of when Shaq went to the Phoenix Suns (a.k.a.: The Big Cactus), but our beloved Zabian Dowdell has finally made it to the NBA.  Zabe signed a 10-day contract to play for the Suns (these contracts are standard with fill-ins while a team gets a chance to see if they want to keep a player longer term).  He will wear #22 for the Suns.

Dowdell played with the Suns’ Summer League team the last two years but was cut in training camp before this season.  He then played for the Tulsa 66ers in the NBA D-League before the Suns picked him up.  Zabe was averaging 14.5 ppg and 5.6 apg in the Developmental League.

Zabian still sits in 8th on the Hokies’ career scoring list, 6th in assists, and 3rd in steals.

Dowdell did not play in the game Sunday night, but he had just signed that day.  One site claims the signing is more for practice purposes and that he might not see the court much, if at all (he’s behind Steve Nash and Goran Dragic).  Here’s hoping the former Hokie First Team All-ACC player gets a chance to show his stuff, at least a little bit, during this 10 day stretch.  The Suns next game is Tuesday and they play five games total during those 10 days.