The NBA is back, and the Gamecocks are well-represented as the league gets set to start its regular season Thursday night.

As the season starts, South Carolina has four former players—three from the Gamecocks' Final Four team in 2017—who will be competing with their teams for playoff spots or playoff seeding.

Before the season starts, here's a look at all four guys and what they have to play for the next few weeks.

Sindarius Thornwell, New Orleans

The 2017 SEC Player of the Year gets another crack in the NBA and will be in the league's first game back from a five-month hiatus when the Pelicans take on the Utah Jazz at 6:30 p.m. from the NBA's bubble. The game can be seen on TNT.

Also see: What Lawson's return means for South Carolina

The former Gamecock signed a free agent deal with New Orleans a few weeks ago before the resumption started and will get another shot to prove he belongs in the NBA.

The Pelicans are in the midst of vying for a playoff spot, 3.5 games back from the eighth-place Grizzlies and tied with the Kings.

After being drafted in the second round, Thornwell began his career for the Los Angeles Clippers before being released and signing a G-League deal with Houston where he averaged 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds this season for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

PJ Dozier, Denver

Dozier is another Gamecock who will get a chance early in the restarted league schedule, taking the court Saturday with the Nuggets against Miami and another former Gamecock in Chris Silva (but we'll get to him) at 1 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.

The starting point guard on South Carolina's Final Four team, Dozier saw his two-way contract converted into a multi-year deal during quarantine and he'll be with Denver for the foreseeable future and with the Nuggets in the bubble as they sit pretty comfortable in the playoffs.

Also see: ZaQuandre White talks enrolling at South Carolina

The Nuggets sit at third in the West right now at 43-22 and will be jockeying for seeding when the league resumes.

Dozier averaged 11.1 minutes, 4.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game before the league was suspended in March but was averaging 21.4 points and 7.7 rebounds with 7.7 assists in the G-League this year.

Chris Silva, Miami

Silva is the only one of the former Gamecocks who has been in the NBA all season, starting with the Heat out of necessity because of an injury and playing well enough to sign a three-year deal with the Heat.

With the Heat sitting at fourth in the East at 41-24, it's extremely likely Silva will be in the playoffs, it's just a matter of at what seed.

His first game back will be at 1 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) against Dozier and the Nuggets.

In 41 games this season Silva is shooting 62.3 percent from the field and averaging 2.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game.

Also see: Gamecocks make strong impression on JUCO wing

Brian Bowen, Indiana

Bowen was selected for the Pacers' roster when Indiana went to the bubble and will get a chance to show he belongs on a NBA roster. He'll get his first chance Saturday in the bubble when the Pacers take on Philadelphia at 7 p.m.

The only Gamecock on this list that never played a minute at South Carolina, Bowen spent a year in Columbia waiting to see if the NCAA would deem him eligible to play. It didn't, and he went and played overseas in Australia before signing a free agent deal with the Pacers before the season.

He's played in five NBA games this year with one start, averaging 0.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.8 minutes per game. In 29 games in the G-League this year he was averaging 16.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

The Pacers are currently the No. 5 seed in the East at 39-26.