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:
Collin Sexton: Utah Jazz
Sexton has established himself as one of Utah’s most important players this season. He’s claimed the Jazz's starting shooting guard spot and has been the best scorer on the team in recent weeks.
Sexton's great run of form culminated in his first two 30-plus point performances of the season. He set a new season-high with 31 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. He added one rebound, seven assists and a steal in Utah's narrow defeat to the Thunder.
Sexton’s first 30-point game of the season came just three days prior against the Indiana Pacers. In addition to his 30 points, he added three rebounds and five assists.
While he didn’t cross the 30-point threshold, Sexton wrapped up the week with a strong outing against the Houston Rockets on Saturday. He finished with 28 points, three rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Brandon Miller: Charlotte Hornets
Miller was held out of two games for the Hornets after he suffered a lower back contusion during their game against the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 12. Charlotte’s high-scoring rookie came back firing, however, with a pair of 20-plus point games last week.
In 35 minutes Miller scored 24 points and shot an efficient 57.1% from both the field and beyond the 3-point line in Charlotte’s win over the Spurs on Friday. He added nine rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
Miller continued to show how big of an impact he has on Charlotte's scoring with 23 points, along with seven rebounds, three assists and a block against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Herb Jones: New Orleans Pelicans
Jones had a productive three games with New Orleans last week. He logged 10 points, three rebounds and three assists against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
Jones notched nine points in both of New Orleans’ last two games against the Hornets and the Phoenix Suns. He added one rebound, one assist and a pair of steals against the Hornets, and three rebounds and two assists against the Suns.
Keon Ellis: Sacramento Kings
Ellis appeared in one of the Kings’ two games last week, logging just two minutes of action in Sacramento’s loss to the Pacers on Thursday. He was a healthy scratch for the Kings' game against the Suns on Tuesday.
Kira Lewis Jr: Toronto Raptors
Lewis had an eventful week that saw him traded from the Pelicans to the Raptors on Wednesday. Before the trade, Lewis was bouncing between the Pelicans and their G League affiliate the Birmingham Squadron. Lewis has yet to appear for the Raptors and was assigned to their G League affiliate Raptors 905. His last NBA appearance came on Jan. 13 for the Pelicans against the Mavericks.
G League
Lewis made his debut for Raptors 905 on Saturday, finishing with four points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Lewis also played in one game for the Birmingham Squadron last week, before he was traded.
Noah Clowney had a very productive week for the Long Island Nets, finishing in double figures in three of their four games, and had 28 points, seven boards, one assist and a block against the Stockton Kings. He also had a few high-flying dunks against the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Josh Primo and JD Davison both logged 30-plus point performances last week. Davison notched 36 points and added 10 assists against the Sioux Falls Skyforce, while Primo dropped 37 points against Santa Cruz.
Here’s how all former Alabama players performed in the G League last week:
Alex Reese: Rip City Remix
Jan. 15: 2 minutes, no stats vs. the Oklahoma City Blue.
Jaden Shackelford: Oklahoma City Blue
Jan. 15: 20 points, 1 rebound vs. Rip City.
Jan. 17: 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist vs. the Salt Lake City Stars.
Jan. 19: 25 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block vs. Salt Lake City.
Jan. 21: 11 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal vs. Mexico City Capitanes.
JD Davison: Maine Celtics
Jan. 19: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals vs. Sioux Falls.
Jan. 21: 36 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal vs. Sioux Falls.
Josh Primo: Ontario Clippers
Jan. 16: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks vs. the Memphis Hustle.
Jan. 19: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block vs. Santa Cruz.
Jan. 20: 37 points, 1 rebound, 9 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks vs. Santa Cruz.
Kira Lewis Jr.: Raptors 905
Jan. 15: 19 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals for Birmingham vs. Raptors 905
Jan. 20: 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block vs. the Delaware Blue Coats.
Noah Clowney: Long Island Nets
Jan. 15: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block vs. Santa Cruz.
Jan. 17: 28 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block vs. Stockton.
Jan. 19: 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks vs. the Windy City Bulls.
Jan. 20: 9 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks vs. Windy City.