Lorenzo Brown headlines the 2017-18 All-NBA G League First Team

Brown, who averaged 18.8 points and 8.9 assists for Raptors 905, is joined on the All-NBA G League First Team by South Bay Lakers center Thomas Bryant, Santa Cruz Warriors guard Quinn Cook, Salt Lake City Stars forward Georges Niang and Texas Legends forward Jameel Warney. All five members of the First Team played in both the NBA and NBA G League during the 2017-18 season, with Brown, Cook and Niang as NBA two-way players Bryant as an assignee and Warney earning a GATORADE Call-Up.   

The All-NBA G League Second Team features four NBA two-way players: guard Antonio Blakeney (Windy City Bulls/Chicago Bulls), guard Alex Caruso (South Bay Lakers/Los Angeles Lakers), forward Amile Jefferson (Iowa Wolves/Minnesota Timberwolves) and forward Johnathan Motley (Texas Legends/Dallas Mavericks). Forward Christian Wood of the Delaware Blue Coats rounds out the Second Team.  

The Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic plan on interviewing Jerry Stackhouse.

Stackhouse will also interview with the New York Knicks.

Stackhouse is currently head coach of Raptors 905 of the G League.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have converted forward Amile Jefferson’s two-way contract to a standard NBA contract.

Jefferson appeared in 45 games for the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s NBA G League affiliate, averaging 17.8 points, a league-leading 12.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

The 6-9 forward set a G League record with 36 double-doubles. Jefferson was signed by the Timberwolves to a two-way contract on Jan. 15, 2018.

The Toronto Raptors have converted guard Lorenzo Brown to a standard NBA contract. Brown, who signed a two-way contract July 25, 2017, is now eligible to participate for the Raptors in the playoffs. 

Brown has appeared in 14 games with the Raptors this season. Averaging 2.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 9.8 minutes. He scored a season-high 11 points Apr. 9 at Detroit and recorded a season-best five assists Jan. 11 vs. Cleveland.

Brown was selected as the 2017-18 MVP of the NBA G League on Apr. 10 after averaging team highs of 18.8 points, 8.9 assists and 1.78 steals in 32 games (all starts) for Raptors 905.  He also averaged 5.2 rebounds and shot .468 from the field.  Raptors 905 (31-19) went 25-7 with Brown in the lineup. 

Raptors 905 guard Lorenzo Brown was named the 2017-18 NBA G League Most Valuable Player in a vote by the league’s 26 head coaches and general managers.

Brown (6-5, 187, North Carolina State), who signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors last July, averaged team highs of 18.8 points, 8.9 assists and 1.78 steals in 32 games (all starts) for defending NBA G League champion Raptors 905. 

He also averaged 5.2 rebounds and shot 46.8 percent from the field.  Raptors 905 (31-19) went 25-7 with Brown in the lineup.  

In his fifth NBA G League season, Brown helped lead Raptors 905 to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.  Raptors 905 defeated the Grand Rapids Drive in the first round, the Westchester Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and the Erie BayHawks in the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA G League Playoffs. The team currently trails the Austin Spurs 1-0 in the NBA G League Finals.

Santa Cruz Warriors guard Quinn Cook, a two-way player with the Golden State Warriors, finished second in the NBA G League MVP voting. Westchester Knicks guard Trey Burke, who was called up by the New York Knicks in January, finished third.

The Sacramento Kings will relocate their G League affiliate from Reno to Stockton. The franchise will also change their name from the Bighorns.

The Kings have been affiliated with Reno since 2008.

Stockton is a 45-minute drive from the Golden 1 Center compared to a two-hour drive through a mountain pass to Reno.

“With the addition of NBA G League Basketball in the Central Valley, each of California’s NBA franchises have a powerful asset within an hour of their headquarters to help develop their players and expand their fan bases with elite professional basketball at an affordable price in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere,” NBA G League President Malcolm Turner said.

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Andre Ingram for the rest of the season.

Ingram averaged 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 47 games (seven starts) for the South Bay Lakers this season, shooting a league-best 47.5 percent from three-point range. The G League’s all-time leader in three-pointers made (713) owns career G League averages of 10.2 points (.464 FG%, .461 3P%), 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 384 games.

The Lakers roster stands at 17, including two two-way players.

Antonio Blakeney has been named the 2017-18 NBA G League Rookie of the Year. The award, voted on by the league’s 26 head coaches and general managers, recognizes the first-year professional who most significantly contributed to his team’s success during the season.

Blakeney (6-4, 197, LSU) averaged an NBA G League-high 32.0 points to go with 6.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.25 steals in 32 games for Windy City, which went 17-15 with him in the lineup. The 21-year-old guard, who signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls last July after playing with the team at NBA Summer League 2017, shot 45.9 percent from the field and 86.2 percent from the free throw line.

Blakeney has appeared in 19 games with the Chicago Bulls, averaging 7.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He has scored a season-high 16 points twice, most recently against the New York Knicks on March 19.

Landry Nnoko has been named the 2017-18 NBA G League Defensive Player of the Year. He earned the honor in a vote by the league’s 26 head coaches and general managers.

Nnoko (6-10, 250, Clemson) ranked second in the NBA G League in rebounds per game (11.5) and fourth in blocked per game (2.06). He anchored a Drive defense that finished third in the league in opponents’ points per game (102.8), fourth in defensive rating (102.5) and fifth in opponents’ field goal percentage (44.5).
In his first NBA G League season, Nnoko averaged 14.7 points in 49 games and tied for second in double-doubles with 27. Nnoko helped the Drive to a franchise-best 29-21 record and the team’s first playoff berth. The fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, Grand Rapids lost to Raptors 905 in the first round of the postseason.

Nnoko played with the Detroit Pistons during the 2017 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and the 2017 NBA preseason. A four-year player at Clemson, Nnoko earned Atlantic Coast Conference All-Defensive Team honors as a senior in 2015-16.

DeQuan Jones has been named the 2017-18 NBA G League Most Improved Player.  Voted on by the league’s 26 head coaches and general managers, the award honors the player who demonstrated the most significant improvement during the 2017-18 season.  

In his second NBA G League season and first with the Mad Ants, Jones (6-8, 221, Miami) averaged 18.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 30.6 minutes in 49 games (48 starts). He also shot 50.8 percent from the field and ranked ninth in the NBA G League in three-point field goal percentage at 43.3.

Jones began the season by averaging 12.7 points and shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from three-point range over nine games in November.  He produced a breakout month in February, averaging 26.5 points and shooting 58.8 percent from the field and 45.7 percent from beyond the arc in eight games to earn NBA G League Player of the Month honors.