With the 2023-24 NBA in full swing, a few former Alabama men’s basketball stars are making waves around the league.
Every week, TideIllustrated will recap the performances of former Crimson Tide players from the past week of NBA games, and give key updates on those in the NBA G League. Here were some of the top performances by former Alabama players last week:
Brandon Miller: Charlotte Hornets
Miller continued an excellent run of form for Charlotte last week, scoring over 20 points in three of its last five games.
Miller’s best performance came in the Hornets' most recent game against the New York Knicks. He tied his career high with 29 points, a mark which he also logged against the Knicks on Nov. 18. Miller added seven rebounds, three assists and a block Monday.
Miller’s other two 20-plus point-scoring games came at the start of last week. He scored 27 points, along with three rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal against the Minnesota Timberwolves last Monday, and logged 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a block against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
Miller was finally held under 20 points against the Utah Jazz on Saturday. He finished with 12, along with one rebound, three assists and a steal in Charlotte’s 134-122 loss. While it wasn't a scoring barrage for Miller, two of his points came on a ferocious dunk over Utah and former Auburn forward Walker Kessler.
Miller’s worst performance of the week came against the Houston Rockets on Friday. He had just five points, one rebound and two assists in 20 minutes of action. It was the first time Miller was held to under 10 points since Jan. 12.
After a rocky start to the new year, Miller has hit a purple patch of form that has seen him showcase his three-level scoring and shot-creating ability. The former No. 2 pick has proved in his first season that the Hornets have a scoring stud they can build their future around.
Collin Sexton: Utah Jazz
Sexton had his own streak of finishing with over 20 points. He finished above that mark for a seventh straight game, logging 22 points, along with three rebounds, seven assists and a block against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.
Sexton's streak was snapped one game later when he was limited to just 11 points, along with three rebounds, six assists and a steal against the Washington Wizards on Thursday.
Sexton went right back to his elite free-scoring and playmaking ways in Utah’s next game, however. He had a double-double with 24 points and 13 assists against Miller and the Hornets on Saturday. He also added four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Sexton will need to have another bounce-back game this week after a poor showing against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. He had just six points on 1-for-10 shooting, along with one rebound and seven assists.
Herb Jones: New Orleans Pelicans
While Sexton had a strong outing against the Pelicans, so too did Jones, who had his best performance since the start of the New Year. He matched Sexton’s 22 points and added five rebounds, five assists, one block and a steal Tuesday.
Jones finished in double figures for a second straight game when he scored 14 points, along with four rebounds, one assist and a block against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
Jones' form took a dip during a pair of tough games for New Orleans against the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. Jones was held to nine points in both contests and added a block against Milwaukee. He was more productive against Boston with three rebounds and four assists.
Noah Clowney: Brooklyn Nets
Clowney made his first NBA appearance since Dec. 27 when he played three minutes for the Nets against the Jazz on Monday. He made the most of those three minutes, finishing with two points, a pair of rebounds, one assist and a block.
Kira Lewis Jr: Toronto Raptors
Lewis made his debut with Toronto on Friday, playing two minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers. He was traded to Toronto from the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 17 as part of a three-team deal.
Keon Ellis: Sacramento Kings
Ellis was a healthy scratch in all four of Sacramento’s most recent games. He last appeared on Jan. 18 when he logged two minutes against the Pacers.
G League
Before debuting for the Raptors, Lewis was already playing for Toronto’s G League side Raptors 905 and he’s continued to make a strong impression with his new team, logging a pair of double-digit scoring performances last week.
As a result of his NBA call-up, Clowney played in just one of the Long Island Nets’ two games last week, logging 14 points against the Motor City Cruise.
JD Davison had a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds against the Windy City Bulls. Davison also earned the opportunity to play in the G League Up Next Game on Feb. 18 during NBA All-Star Weekend.
Jaden Shackelford was in double figures in all three of the Oklahoma City Blue’s games last week. Josh Primo also finished in double figures on three occasions for the Ontario Clippers. Alex Reese had a productive four games for the Rip City Remix, including a 13-point, 15-rebound outing against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Here’s how all former Alabama players performed in the G League last week:
Alex Reese: Rip City Remix
Jan. 22: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block vs. G League Ignite.
Jan. 24: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block vs. Ignite.
Jan. 26: 13 points, 15 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block vs. Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Jan. 27: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks vs. Rio Grande Valley.
Jaden Shackelford: Oklahoma City Blue
Jan. 24: 13 points, 3 assists, 1 steal vs. Mexico City Capitanes.
Jan. 27: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists vs. Stockton Kings.
Jan. 29: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists vs. G League Ignite.
JD Davison: Maine Celtics
Jan. 24: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists vs. Windy City.
Jan. 26: 22 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block vs. Cleveland Charge.
Jan. 27: 13 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal vs. Cleveland.
Josh Primo: Ontario Clippers
Jan. 23: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block vs. Greensboro Swarm.
Jan. 25: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks vs. Greensboro.
Jan. 27: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block vs. College Park Skyhawks.
Jan. 29: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block vs. College Park.
Kira Lewis Jr: Raptors 905
Jan. 24: 11 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals vs. Grand Rapids Gold.
Jan. 27: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal vs. Grant Rapids.
Noah Clowney: Long Island Nets
Jan. 23: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist vs. Motor City.
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