Category: Basketball

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was one for the ages.

The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament was also fantastic.

Next weekend the NBA playoffs begin (following the play-in games), which is always a fun time for me. And while the Association’s championship tourney is just heating up in mid-May the WNBA begins anew, highlighting a league that gets better and stronger every year.

After something of a hiatus, roundball had returned to the top of the heap among my sports passions, so – as you might have guessed – I’m in the midst of a love fest.

But while sharing the warmth, I’ve gotta blow some kisses the NBA G League’s way.

After a great regular season its postseason has been pretty darn fun, too, with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Delaware Blue Coats reaching the championship series.

Delaware – 20-12 in the regular season but losers of four consecutive games entering the playoffs – swept its way to the 2022-23 title. The Blue Coats opened with a 134-120 victory over RGV on Tuesday, getting 43 points from Jaden Springer and 35 more courtesy of NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion and a two-way player, Mac McClung.

In Game 2 on Thursday, McClung led the charge with 30 points in a 114-110 conquest, clinching the first title in franchise history.

Unlike the format used by the parent league, the G League playoffs are quick and dramatic. And when I say quick, I mean there are no second chances until you reach the Finals.

Twelve teams qualify for the playoffs – six from the Eastern Conference and six from the Western Conference, with the top two seeds from each earning first round byes.

This year, the Long Island Nets took top honors in the East with a 23-9 record, while the Stockton Kings were kings of the West at 25-7.

That was good enough for first-round passes, along with the conference’s second seeds, the Blue Coats (Eastern) and Memphis Hustle (Western).

But while the NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven format, that’s not the case in the G League. It’s a one-and-done affair right up until the championship series, which is best-of-three.

Rio Grande Valley – defending league champions – made it into the playoffs as a No. 6 seed in the West. Even though they had the same record (18-14) as the Santa Cruz Warriors and Mexico City Capitanes, they squeezed their way into the field via tiebreakers.

The Vipers opened with a wildly entertaining 124-122 victory over the South Bay Lakers, one that saw them go on a 5-0 run to tie the road game at 122-all and win it on Jalen Lecque’s bucket with 0.2 seconds remaining.

TyTy Washington Jr., on assignment from the parent club Houston Rockets, led the way with 30 points while two-way players Darius Days and Trevor Hudgins combined for 41 points.

They had to dig deep again for their second win in the playoffs, a 110-108 victory over Memphis. This time Washington Jr. hit a pair of free throws with five seconds left and the Hustle missed a 3-pointer in the waning moments to seal the deal.

RGV won their semifinal meeting with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, 110-105, taking an 86-85 lead in the fourth quarter and never trailing again.

The Blue Coats – affiliates of the Philadelphia 76ers – got to rest in the first round and then started their run to the finals with a 104-99 conquest of Capital City. Springer sparked the win with 24 points and McClung pumped in 20.

They were even more impressive in upsetting the Nets, 109-94.

Springer had 21 points and 16 rebounds in a contest that saw Delaware lead at every break.

I’ve made no secret about my affection for the G League, which has only grown now that I have a hometown team in the Birmingham Squadron. From the one free-throw rule to coach’s challenges to target score overtimes, it’s terrific, innovative professional basketball.

And while I’m perfectly happy with the NBA’s postseason structure, the “win or go home” aspect of its feeder league works just fine. The G League starts with a preseason tournament (the Showcase Cup) before hitting the reset button for a 32-game regular season slate, so a no-frills playoff makes perfect sense.

The only bad thing about it is that it leaves me wanting more – which is the highest compliment I can pay to a developmental league.

The city of Birmingham’s latest professional basketball season began October 14, 2022, when the New Orleans Pelicans squared off with the Atlanta Hawks in an exhibition game at Legacy Arena. It ended on Saturday when the NBA teams’ G league affiliates – the Birmingham Squadron and College Park Skyhawks – played their season finales in the same building.

Man, it was fun … all of it.

The Squadron’s final mission of 2022-23 was contested on Fan Appreciation Night in front of 4,119 spectators, who saw Birmingham take a 122-120 victory. The Pelicans’ understudies finished 6-12 in the preseason Showcase Cup competition and 11-21 in the regular season.

College Park closed out at 15-17.

Birmingham got 27 points from guard Kelan Martin, followed by Malcolm Hill (23), Dereon Seabron (19), James Kelly Sr. (15) and Feron Hunt (13). Seabron added 11 rebounds for a double-double in a matchup the hosts led from wire-to-wire.

Brandon Williams had a huge night for the Skyhawks, hitting for 40 points, while Donovan Williams added 25.

“It felt good to end up on a high note,” Martin said. “We’ve won a lot in the last few games, so it was nice to end the season like this. It was fun out there playing one last time.”

Heading into Saturday’s finale, Martin was the club’s top scorer for the year, popping for 20.1 points per game. His Saturday performance cemented his status as stat leader in the category.

“This season I just worked really hard on playing my game, and the work that I put in over the summer paid off,” he said. “I was consistent all year, so it was a good feeling.”

From a wins and losses perspective, it wasn’t what Squadron players, coaches or fans hoped for; Birmingham finished well below the playoff cut line. But the NBA G League is about getting players ready to step up to the next level, and in that regard, plenty was accomplished.

“I commended them on their character, which is how we put the team together, and it really showed the last 10 or so games this season,” Squadron head coach T. J. Saint said after the game. “They stuck together. Hard times create strong men, and I’ve told them that the whole season. And even though we didn’t make the playoffs and the record wasn’t what we wanted, this season will in some way pay dividends in their future.”

And if you were among the 65,682 fans who showed up for a game in Birmingham’s house, you were certainly entertained – regardless of the outcomes. This is what a developmental league is supposed to be; fast-paced, high-quality play, night in and night out.

Hunt, a forward, and guard Javonte Smart suited up for more Squadron regular season games than any other players on the roster, making the most of their minutes in 32 outings. Hunt tallied 468 points and had 164 rebounds in 985 minutes, while Smart was good for 435 points and 110 assists in 930 minutes on the floor.

Seabron – a two-way player who averaged 18.4 points per G League game – was called up to New Orleans for five games, but parlayed 27 appearances with the Squadron into 497 points as well as 932 minutes of court time. Immediately after Saturday’s win, he flew out to join the Pelicans on their West Coast swing.

The former North Carolina State guard has been a standout for the Squadron all season long, and in his penultimate regular season game had a triple-double (21 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds) in a 139-131 road loss to the Iowa Wolves.

And before joining FC Bayern Munich in the EuroLeague, forward Zylan Cheatham was a crowd favorite, scoring 12.2 points and snatching 8.9 rebounds per game in 23 appearances.

For fans who wanted some local flavor with their pro hoops, they got it in a pair of guards – University of Alabama product and Huntsville native John Petty Jr. and UAB’s Jordan Swing, who graduated from Vestavia Hills High School.

Arguably the high point of the season came on March 7 when 7,013 fans – mostly youngsters – were at Legacy Arena for the Literacy Day showdown against the Santa Cruz Warriors. Birmingham rewarded the largest crowd of 2022-23 with a 127-112 victory.

“They got to 110 decibels that game, and we needed all of them,” Saint said.

Attendance was solid as the team averaged 2,737 fans per game. Aside from the huge Literacy Day turnout, the Squadron drew 4,000-plus fans on three home dates – including the season finale – and more than 3,000 customers twice.

Completing a second season is a first for a professional basketball team in the Magic City. Franchises in the Professional Basketball League of America, Southern Professional Basketball League and Continental Basketball Association were one-and-done, while the Squadron has been part of the city’s sportscape since 2021.

Saint hopes for even better things to come.

“Every coffee shop I go in I say, ‘Hey, are you guys going to the Squadron game?’” Saint said. “Some people knew about the team but now more people know, and all the credit goes to (general manager) Leslie Claybrook and her staff. They have been monumental in trying to spread the word, and it’s going to grow even more this summer.

“This is one of the greatest places to play basketball in the entire G League, and I’m really excited about the future.”

Like other college basketball standouts, North Carolina State’s Dereon Seabron was hoping to hear his name called during the 2022 NBA Draft.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Two teams were quite familiar with his name, though, and that prompted a call from his agent.

“On draft night, when it got to the later part of the second round, my agent called me and said there were two teams that would offer me a two-way contract if I didn’t get drafted – the (New Orleans) Pelicans and the (Philadelphia) 76ers,” remembers Seabron, who was voted the Atlantic Coast Conference Most Improved Player and second team All-ACC for the 2021-22 season. “But I never worked out with the 76ers. New Orleans liked me a lot and things went well when I got there, so I took the two-way from them. I flew in, we had training camp for summer league, and that’s how it all started.”

Seabron, a 6-6 guard, signed with the Pelicans last September, setting the stage for a season that has him spending some time with the parent club and the rest with New Orleans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.

Playing overseas can be a lucrative alternative for undrafted players, but Seabron said he never considered that an option, especially after scoring 17.3 points and pulling down 8.2 rebounds per game in his final (redshirt sophomore) season with the Wolfpack.

“For me, personally, playing overseas wasn’t something I thought about,” he said. “The NBA was the only thing on my mind because I dreamt of it as a kid and felt like I was good enough to make a team.”

Two-way contracts date back to January 19, 2017, when the NBA reached a collective bargaining agreement which went into effect for the upcoming season. Part of the deal meant that teams could retain rights to two players who were part of what was then called the NBA Development League.

It would allow big league clubs to effectively expand their rosters from 15 to 17 players.

Then, it was an experiment, with 53 players signing two-way deals for 2017-18.

Today, such contracts are standard practice in the NBA/G League dynamic. And for Seabron, the benefits of being in the system are already paying dividends.

“It’s a good experience,” Seabron said. “When I went to work out with New Orleans, it just felt like a family atmosphere. I really like the organization.”

Players who have fewer than four years of NBA experience can sign a two-way contract, and are limited to two years with the same team. They’re eligible to play in 50 of the parent club’s regular season games (but are ineligible for the postseason) and can still practice with the team when not playing. Of course, NBA down time usually means active time with the G League team.

Two-way players are paid a flat rate equal to half of the league’s minimum salary, and there are no salary cap implications.

Seabron is the only active two-way player in the Pelicans’ organization; the other, E.J. Liddell out of Ohio State, is currently recovering from a torn right ACL.

And while a player can be cut at any time, his contract can also be converted to a regular NBA contract (point guard Mike James was the first to get the contract upgrade, that coming on December 7, 2017, when he was with the Phoenix Suns). Once this happens, another two-way contract spot opens.

Seabron led the Squadron in scoring in two of the first three regular season games, then was transferred to New Orleans prior to Birmingham’s West Coast trip. On January 9, during the Pelicans’ 132-112 road victory against the Washington Wizards, he scored his first NBA points and was presented the game ball by New Orleans coach Willie Green.

Last Sunday in the Squadron’s 122-104 loss to the Stockton Kings, Seabron shared high-scoring honors with Javonte Smart by hitting for 22.

Entering the two-game road swing at Raptors 905, Seabron had suited up for Birmingham 17 times (averaging 14.3 points per game), and has four appearances with New Orleans. In his 18th and 19th games with the Squadron, he totaled 40 points, leading the team with 25 points in a 115-95 victory on Thursday.

“I really like the concept of two-way players, and I really like our guy,” Birmingham coach T.J. Saint said. “I told him after (Saturday’s win over Stockton) that it was one of the best games I’ve seen from him as far as controlling the game at the end. Not forcing it, getting organized … I was very proud of him.”

Seabron hopes to make his way to a full-time roster spot with the Pelicans sooner than later, of course, but his time in Birmingham has been time well spent.

“I definitely think playing in Birmingham has helped me a lot, especially on the defensive end,” he said. “I can go out and get the reps and make reads, and we do the same things here they’re doing in New Orleans, so it makes it easier when you make the move.”

Saint agrees.

“We have some non-negotiables and defense is one, so if he didn’t (play defense), I’d pull him right away,” Saint said. “But again, he’s getting it done, and I’m very proud of how he’s playing.”