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 continued to thrive in January for Utah. He finished with 20 or more points in three of the Jazz’s four games last week, including an efficient 20 points in 20 minutes on the floor against the Toronto Raptors on Friday. He added two rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Sexton’s best performance came in Utah’s most recent game when he had 27 points, four rebounds and five assists against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. He also logged 22 points, along with two rebounds, four assists a steal and a block in just 21 minutes against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday and logged 19 points, three assists and a steal against the Milwaukee Bucks last Monday.
Sexton is averaging a remarkably efficient 19.5 points in just 23 minutes per game in January.
Brandon Miller: Charlotte Hornets
Miller started last week cold with just four points for Charlotte in its loss to the Chicago Bulls, adding six rebounds, four assists and a steal. He bounced back with 15 points, one rebound and a pair of assists against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
After logging his first game with over 10 points since Jan. 1, Miller’s week was cut short after he left Charlotte’s game against San Antonio Spurs after just nine minutes with a lower back contusion. He finished with one point, two rebounds, one assist and a steal.
The injury kept Miller out of the Hornets’ most recent game against the Miami Heat. Miller has now missed five games with various injuries in his rookie season and will look to return for the Hornets clash against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
Herb Jones: New Orleans Pelicans
Jone was in double figures in two of the Pelicans’ three games last week. Both performances saw Jones stuff the stat sheet on both ends of the floor. He started the week with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, a pair of blocks and one steal in New Orleans’ blowout win over the Golden State Warriors.
Jones only played 19 minutes and logged eight points, one rebound, one assist and a block against the Nuggets on Friday but bounced back emphatically with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. In January, Jones is averaging 11.9 points and 1.3 blocks per game.
Keon Ellis: Sacramento Kings
Ellis’ minutes dropped slightly last week for Sacramento. His best game was an efficient nine minutes where he notched three points, one rebound, one assist and a block in the Kings’ win over the Hornets.
Ellis played just four minutes and only registered a foul in the Kings’ win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. He logged 10 minutes and scored three points, along with two rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday but was a healthy scratch in Sacramento’s most recent game against the Bucks on Sunday.
Kira Lewis Jr: New Orleans Pelicans
Lewis played in just one of the Pelicans’ games last week. He scored two points and added a pair of rebounds in seven minutes against the Mavericks.
G League
Lewis did make one appearance for the Pelicans’ G League side the Birmingham Squadron, scoring 21 points against the Memphis Hustle.
Elsewhere, former Alabama stars Alex Reese and Jaden Shackelford squared against each other for their respective G League sides. JD Davison logged a pair of double-doubles for the Maine Celtics, while Noah Clowney had one of his own with 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Long Island Nets.
Here’s how all former Alabama players performed in the G League last week:
Alex Reese: Rip City Remix
Jan. 14: 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block vs. Oklahoma City.
Jaden Shackelford: Oklahoma City Blue
Jan. 9: 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block vs. the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Jan. 10: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists vs. Rio Grande Valley.
Jan. 14: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal vs. Rip City.
JD Davison: Maine Celtics
Jane. 8: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, 4 blocks vs. the Long Island Nets.
Jan. 10: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 1 block vs. Long Island.
Jan. 14: 15 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steal, 4 blocks vs. the Indiana Mad Ants.
Josh Primo: Ontario Clippers
Jan. 8: 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals vs. the South Bay Lakers.
Jan. 10: 11 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 1 block vs. the Stockton Kings.
Jan. 14: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists vs. the Hustle.
Kira Lewis Jr: Birmingham Squadron
Jan. 11: 21 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals vs. Memphis.
Noah Clowney: Long Island Nets
Jan. 8: 27 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks vs. Maine.
Jan. 10: 12 points 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block vs. Maine.
Jan. 13: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal vs. Stockton.