2021/22 NBA G League Draft Results
The NBA G League held its draft for the 2021/22 season on Saturday afternoon.
The 28 G League teams affiliated with NBA teams participated in the event, with the G League Ignite and Mexico City Capitanes sitting it out. The Ignite and Capitanes will be taking part in the NBAGL’s Showcase Cup this fall, but won’t be part of the 36-game regular season that tips off in late December.
The first player selected in today’s draft was former St. John’s point guard Shamorie Ponds, who was picked by the Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers‘ G League affiliate. Ponds has a little NBA experience, having appeared in four games as a rookie in 2019/20 while on a two-way contract with Toronto.
Among the other notable picks were Nate Darling by the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario at No. 5 and LiAngelo Ball by the Greensboro Swarm at No. 14. Last week, the Clippers and Hornets signed and waived Darling and Ball, respectively, in an effort to secure their affiliate rights, but were unable to get those rights for procedural reasons. The two teams had to use the draft to make sure they landed those players.
The Knicks also signed and waived veteran guard Brandon Knight during the preseason and were unable to get his affiliate rights due to a procedural issue. However, Westchester passed on Knight with the No. 4 overall pick today, and the Heat‘s affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, snatched him up at No. 6. We’ll see if Knight is no longer in the Knicks’ plans or if the Skyforce intend to trade his rights to Westchester.
Lance Stephenson to the Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets) at No. 13 and Dwyane Wade‘s son Zaire Wade to the Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz) at No. 10 were a couple of the other notable picks that played out as expected.
Here are the full 2021/22 G League draft results:
Round One:
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Shamorie Ponds
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Tyler Hagedorn
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Gabe York
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Justin Turner
- Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): Nate Darling
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Brandon Knight
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Eddie Stansberry
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Jaylen Johnson
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Michael Gbinije
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Zaire Wade
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Loudon Love
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Alan Griffin
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Lance Stephenson
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): LiAngelo Ball
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): TJ Haws
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): B.J. Taylor
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Scottie Lindsey
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): Isaiah Ross
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Ruot Monyyong
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Marlon Stewart
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Joe Young
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Samir Doughty
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Chudier Bile
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Rodney Pryor
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Tim Bond
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Tyree White
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Montell McRae
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Cullen Russo
Round Two:
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Karim Mane
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Kalob Ledoux
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Gerard Tarin
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Barra Njie
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Tahj Eaddy
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Trevon Duval
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Gary Chivichyan
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Ryan Daly
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Keaton Wallace
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): Pedro Bradshaw
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): Alexis Wangmene
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Ian DuBose
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Mike Smith
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Jaire Grayer
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Blake Francis
- Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers): Jack Pagenkopf
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Devonte Patterson
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Jordan Allen
- Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Devearl Ramsey
- Long Island Nets (Nets): Chris Walker
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Eric Demers
- Birmingham Squadron (Pelicans): Derrick Griffin
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): JaQuan Lyle
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Jachai Taylor
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Lydell Elmore
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Ikenna Ndugba
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Tevin King
- Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): Kammeon Holsey
Round Three:
- South Bay Lakers (Lakers): Elijah Cain
- College Park Skyhawks (Hawks): Landon Taliaferro
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Will Vorhees
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Asante Gist
- Stockton Kings (Kings): Princepal Singh
- Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets): Trevor John
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Tristan Jarrett
- Motor City Cruise (Pistons): Devon Baulkman
- Wisconsin Herd (Bucks): Jaylen Bland
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): J.C. Show
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): No pick
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): No pick
- Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat): Joel Ntambwe
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Texas Legends (Mavericks): Lamonte Bearden
- Stockton Kings (Kings): No pick
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): No pick
- Maine Celtics (Celtics): Lindsey Drew
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Artur Labinowicz
- Long Island Nets (Nets): Jaylen Fisher
- Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): Randy Onwuasor
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Seth Allen
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Jovan Mooring
- Capital City Go-Go (Wizards): Jermaine Haley
- Windy City Bulls (Bulls): Kerwin Roach
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Isaiah Blackmon
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Marlon Taylor
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Jimond Ivey
Teams will fill out their rosters with affiliate players, returning-rights players, tryout players, and players who are assigned to the G League from the NBA roster (including those on two-way contracts).
G League training camps open on Monday, with the Showcase Cup tournament tipping off on November 5.
Northwest Notes: Blazers, Nuggets, Jazz, SGA
When president of basketball operations Neil Olshey told reporters last month that the Trail Blazers investigated the sexual assault allegations levied in 1997 against new head coach Chauncey Billups and came away confident Billups hadn’t engaged in wrongdoing, he declined to offer any details on that inquiry. Olshey simply asked fans and the media to trust that the team had thoroughly investigated the situation.
However, a new report from Conrad Wilson and Tony Schick of Oregon Public Broadcasting calls into question just how exhaustive the Trail Blazers’ investigation was. According to Wilson and Schick, the attorney for Jane Doe (Billups’ accuser) said the Blazers didn’t contact her or her client.
“It’s news to us that they conducted an investigation,” attorney Margaret A. Burnham said.
The Blazers’ review didn’t obtain information directly from several primary sources, per the OPB’s report. That doesn’t necessarily meant the team’s conclusion about Billups’ involvement in the 1997 incident was inaccurate, but it suggests that the franchise may not have done everything it could to get the full story.
Whether the latest revelation results in any blowback for Olshey remains to be seen, as Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report tweets. Either way, the fact that the story continues to create PR problems for the club doesn’t reflect well on the Blazers or their head of basketball operations.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Alex Labidou of Nuggets.com provides some takeaways on the prospects that the Nuggets brought in for pre-draft workouts on Monday and Tuesday this week. Tuesday’s group included Chudier Bile (Georgetown), Carlik Jones (Louisville), Makur Maker (Howard), MaCio Teague (Baylor), Arnas Velicka (Lithuania), Moses Wright (Georgia Tech). Details on Monday’s group can be found here.
- The Jazz‘s biggest problems in the postseason were a lack of depth and a lack of versatility, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News, noting that the team figures to face some difficult roster decisions this offseason as it looks for ways to improve.
- There have been no reports stating that the Thunder are thinking about trading Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but some writers have put the 23-year-old in hypothetical trades that Oklahoma City could offer to move up in the draft. Responding to those suggestions, Ross Lovelace of Daily Thunder argues that Oklahoma City should be building around Gilgeous-Alexander, not considering moving him.
NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2021 Draft
The NBA has officially released the initial list of early entrants for the 2021 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 353 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 296 are from colleges, while 57 are international early entrants.
That number obliterates the previous record of 236 early entrants, established in 2018. That had been expected, however, since the NCAA gave players an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in seniors having to decide between staying at college for one more season or declaring for the draft as an “early” entrant.
Since well over half of the college early entrants are seniors, there are actually fewer college underclassmen than usual in this initial group of early entrants.
This year’s total of 353 early entrants figures to shrink significantly by July 7 and again by July 19, the two deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it still looks like the pool will remain extremely crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants certain to exceed 60, the number of picks in the draft.
Our tracker of early entrants for the 2021 draft now includes seniors and is fully up to date. It can be found right here. It doesn’t include players who are automatically draft-eligible this year. As Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets, that list of auto-eligible players includes the prospects who played for the G League Ignite, such as Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga.
Here are the changes we made to our tracker today:
Newly-added players:
College players:
These players hadn’t previously been included on our unofficial list of underclassmen early entrants and weren’t on the list of senior early entrants that the NBA sent to teams last week.
- Josiah Agnew, G, Denmark Technical College (SC) (freshman)
- Justin Bean, F, Utah State (junior)
- Chudier Bile, F, Georgetown (senior)
- Jahvon Blair, G, Georgetown (senior)
- Isaac Bonton, G, Washington State (senior)
- Izaiah Brockington, G, Penn State (junior)
- Chaundee Brown, G, Michigan (senior)
- D.J. Burns Jr., F, Winthrop (sophomore)
- Maurice Calloo, F, Oregon State (junior)
- Trevion Crews, G, Bethel (IN) (senior)
- Sam Cunliffe, G/F, Evansville (junior)
- Cartier Diarra, G, Virginia Tech (senior)
- Lydell Elmore, F, High Point (senior)
- Hasahn French, F, Saint Louis (senior)
- Gorjok Gak, C, California Baptist (senior)
- Patrick Greene Jr., G, National Park College (AR) (sophomore)
- Jordan Hall, F, St. Joseph’s (freshman)
- Kashaun Hicks, G/F, Norfolk State (senior)
- Taveion Hollingsworth, G, Western Kentucky (senior)
- Trevor Hudgins, G, NW Missouri State (junior)
- Anthony Hughes Jr., G, Millsaps College (MS) (senior)
- Damien Jefferson, G/F, Creighton (senior)
- Bryson Johnson, G, Univ. of The Ozarks (AR) (senior)
- Latrell Jones, G, Portland (junior)
- Miller Kopp, F, Northwestern (junior)
- Kameron Langley, G, North Carolina A&T (senior)
- Matt Lewis, G, James Madison (senior)
- Makuach Maluach, G/F, New Mexico (senior)
- Steffon Mitchell, F, Boston College (senior)
- Matthew Moyer, F, George Washington (senior)
- Issa Muhammad, F, Daytona State (FL) (sophomore)
- Joel Ntambwe, F, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Kobi Nwandu, F, Niagara (senior)
- Kevin Obanor, F, Oral Roberts (junior)
- Chris Parker, G, Liberty (senior)
- Jordan Phillips, G/F, UT Arlington (junior)
- Alex Reese, F, Alabama (senior)
- Shawn Royal Jr., G/F, Victory Rock Prep (FL) (post-graduate)
- Marcus Sasser, G, Houston (sophomore)
- Ronaldo Segu, G, Buffalo (junior)
- Roman Silva, C, Oregon State (senior)
- Chris Smith, F, UCLA (senior)
- TJ Starks, G, Cal State Northridge (junior)
- Jeremiah Tilmon, C, Missouri (senior)
- Kyree Walker, G/F, Hillcrest Prep Academy (AZ) (post-graduate)
- Keaton Wallace, G, UTSA (senior)
- Isaiah Washington, G, Long Beach State (senior)
- Richard Washington Jr., G/F, San Jose State (senior)
- Brandon Williams, G, Arizona (sophomore)
- Jeenathan Williams, G/F, Buffalo (junior)
- Bryce Wills, G/F, Stanford (junior)
- Sidney Wilson, G/F, SIU-Edwardsville (junior)
International players:
These players weren’t previously mentioned on our list of international early entrants. The country listed here indicates where they last played, not necessarily where they were born.
- Vinicius Da Silva, C, Spain (born 2001)
- Aristide Mouaha, G, Italy (born 2000)
- Vladislav Odinokov, F/C, Russia (born 2000)
- Joel Parra, F, Spain (born 2000)
- Tomas Pavelka, C, Spain (born 2000)
- Franger Pirela, G, Spain (born 2002)
- Nemanja Popovic, F, Serbia (born 2001)
- Jaime Pradilla, F/C, Spain (born 2001)
- Sitraka Raharimanantoanina, F, France (born 2001)
- Hugo Robineau, G, France (born 2000)
- Nikos Rogavopoulos, F, Greece (born 2001)
- Alexander Shashkov, C, Russia (born 2000)
- Luc Van Slooten, F, Germany (born 2002)
Players removed:
Despite reports or announcements that the players below would declare for the draft, they didn’t show up on the NBA’s official list.
That could mean a number of things — they may have decided against entering the draft; they may have entered the draft, then withdrawn; they may have incorrectly filed their paperwork; or the NBA may have accidentally omitted some names.
In any case, we’ve removed the following names from our early entrant list for the time being.
- Isaiah Adams, F, UCF (freshman)
- James Akinjo, G, Arizona (junior)
- Avery Anderson, G, Oklahoma State (sophomore)
- Sardaar Calhoun, G, Florida State (junior)
- Michael Devoe, G, Georgia Tech (junior)
- Ron Harper Jr., G/F, Rutgers (junior)
- Justin Minaya, F, South Carolina (junior)
- Malachi Smith, G, Chattanooga (sophomore)
- Shamiel Stevenson, G/F, Nebraska (junior)
- Eric Williams Jr. , G/F, Oregon (junior)
