Tide Watch: Season superlatives for former Alabama players in the NBA

The 2023-24 NBA regular season is in the books and two former Alabama basketball stars are hoping to help their sides navigate the play-in tournament and reach the postseason. The format pits the seventh and eighth place teams against each other with the winner earning the No. 7 seed, while the loser faces the winner of a game between ninth and 10th place teams for the No. 8 seed.

Herb Jones helped the New Orleans Pelicans finish seventh in the Western Conference, earning a date with the Los Angeles Lakers. Keon Ellis will look to help navigate the Sacramento Kings to two wins. The Kings finished ninth in the West and will face the 10th-place Golden State Warriors.

While Ellis and Jones look to extend their seasons, other former Alabama players now enter the offseason. Several former Tide standouts made big contributions for their teams this season, helping validate Alabama coach Nate Oats’ track record of taking players from Tuscaloosa to the next level.

With the NBA regular season in the books, here are five superlatives for former Alabama players in the NBA.

While Utah missed the playoffs this season, Sexton became a star during his second campaign in Salt Lake City. He appeared in 78 games, making 51 starts as he split time with Jordan Clarkson as the Jazz’s lead guard.

Sexton upped his scoring from 14.3 points per game a season ago to 18.7 ppg this season, which ranked second on the team. He also made a big jump in assists, going from 2.9 per game a year ago to 4.9 this season. Sexton shot 48.7% from the field and 39.4% from 3-point range.

Sexton solidified his MVP season among former Alabama players with his performances in March. The “Young Bull” was on a heater in the penultimate month of the season, averaging 22.5 points, three rebounds and six assists per game. This season, Sexton also set career highs in assists (13 vs. Charlotte), steals (six vs. Atlanta) and offensive rebounds (five vs. Boston).

Miller had a case to win MVP with his performances in Year 1. After going No. 2 in the 2023 NBA Draft, Miller played in 74 games, making 68 starts for the Charlotte Hornets. Miller averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists points per game while shooting 37.3% from 3 on nearly seven attempts per contest.

Miller also embraced an even bigger role than expected this season after Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball got injured and veteran Terry Rozier was traded to the Miami Heat. He went toe-to-toe with Victor Wembanyama, winning three NBA Rookie of the Month awards and should finish in the top three for Rookie of the Year voting. He set games on fire at times this season, logging a career-high 35 points against the Indiana Pacers and even had a perfect half, shooting 10-for-10 from the field for 26 points against the Orlando Magic on April 6.

The Hornets got everything they could have asked for from Miller in his first season. Though they remain in rebuilding mode it’s clear Charlotte has found a cornerstone of its franchise for the next few years. A tandem of Miller and Ball will be a scary prospect for other sides if the Hornets get some more pieces to work with the two young stars.

Putting up 5.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game aren’t eye-popping numbers. But for Keon Ellis, it’s a massive jump in his second season after he went undrafted out of Alabama in 2022.

Ellis went from appearing in just 16 games in 2022-23, to playing in 57 a year later. He started 21 of those games and became a consistent member of the Kings rotation in just his second season in the league. In addition to his per-game marks, Ellis emphatically ended his season, setting a career-high in scoring with 26 points against the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 9. He logged career highs in almost every statistical category this season and averaged 10.5 points and nearly four rebounds a game in April.

After bouncing between the NBA G League with the occasional NBA appearance here and there in Year 1, Ellis becoming a contributor on a potential playoff team in Sacramento. His output against Golden State will be instrumental in helping the Kings reach the postseason for a second straight year.

Could it really have been anyone else? Though most of these players were Padawans in Oats’ blue-collar system, Jones truly has become a Jedi in the art of hustle plays.

In addition to averaging a career-high 11 points per game, Jones has made a legitimate case to be a first-team All-NBA defender in his third season as a pro. His 105 steals ranks No. 11 in the league, while he’s also averaged just under a block per game and maintained his consistent effort on the glass, averaging 3.6 rebounds per game to go along with his scoring.

Jones consistently guarded the other team’s best player this season. He’s also able to switch and fly around the court with the same tenacious effort that helped him earn SEC Defensive Player of the year in 2021. Now, he’s helped the Pelicans rank No. 6 in the defensive rating, No. 3 in steals per game and No. 5 in opponent points in the paint. Should New Orleans navigate the play-in tournament, Jones will have the opportunity to put his blue-collar effort on full display in the postseason.

As the Oats’ talent factory continues to churn out NBA players, the G League is becoming more saturated with former Alabama stars. In 2023-24, none were better than Davison, who was outstanding in his second season with the Maine Celtics. In 28 appearances, Davison averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.5 steals per game. His assists tally ranked fifth in the G League among guards and his efforts helped lead Maine to the G League Finals, where it fell in three games to former Alabama guard Jaden Shackelford and the Oklahoma City Blue.

While he wasn’t called up to Boston’s playoff roster, Davison did make eight appearances in the regular season. He averaged two points per game in those outings and got a chance to log double-digit minutes in two of Boston’s final games after it locked up first place in the Eastern Conference.

Here how other Alabama stars performed this season.

Clowney finished the season in excellent form, playing consistent minutes for Brooklyn after he spent most of the season with its G League outfit, the Long Island Nets. In April, Clowney played in seven games, averaging 12.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. His best performances of the season came against the Pacers where he had a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action.

The former No. 21 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft also dominated in the G League for Long Island. He started in all 19 of his appearances, averaging 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. While Brooklyn missed the playoffs, Clowney’s end-of-season form suggests that he’ll stick in the NBA and will likely be a bigger part of the Nets' rotation next season.

Lewis found his footing coming off the bench for the Jazz after being traded twice this season. Lewis started the campaign in New Orleans, where he played in 15 games and made three appearances for the Pelicans’ G League side the Birmingham Squadron before he was briefly traded to the Pacers and ultimately flipped to the Toronto Raptors. Lewis played in just one game for Toronto and made seven appearances for G League Raptors 905 before being traded to the Jazz where he finished out the season playing 12 games, averaging 3.8 points, one rebound and 1.6 assists per game.

In 10 G League games for both Raptors 905 and Birmingham, Lewis averaged 15.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists.

Reese played in 32 games in his first season with the Remix. He averaged 13.2 points, five rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and 44.2% from the field and 41.5% from 3. Reese did not make an NBA appearance this season.

In his second season with the Blue, Shackelford helped his side win its first G League championship. He played in 34 games and averaged 13.1 points, along with 2.6 rebounds and assists and shot 35.7% from 3-point range this season. Shackelford did not make an appearance in the NBA.

Primo joined the Clippers this season after starting his career with San Antonio. He appeared in 30 games for G League Ontario, averaging 16.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He also made two appearances for Los Angeles, totaling two points. On April 13, Primo was waived by the Clippers, who signed forward Kai Jones ahead of the postseason.