NBA G League Announces 2025/26 All-NBAGL Teams
Four days after being named the 2025/26 NBA G League Most Valuable Player, Bulls two-way guard Mac McClung has also earned a spot on the All-NBAGL first team, the league announced (all Twitter links).
McClung, who averaged 31.8 points, 7.9 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game on .515/.381/.775 shooting in 29 regular season outings for Windy City, headlines that five-man group of G League standouts along with Rockets two-way player Tristen Newton and NBA veteran DaQuan Jeffries, who finished second and third, respectively, in MVP voting.
Newton, who made five appearances for the Iowa Wolves before joining the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for 30 more games, registered averages of 25.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 4.5 APG with a .480/.376/.859 shooting line. Jeffries, who had a brief NBA stint this season on a 10-day contract with Sacramento, made 28 regular season appearances for the Stockton Kings and contributed 23.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 2.4 APG with an excellent shooting line of .515/.436/.831.
Pistons two-way player Isaac Jones and veteran NBA guard Lester Quinones round out the All-G League first team.
The complete breakdown of the 2025/26 All-NBA G League teams is below. Players who are currently on standard NBA contracts are noted with an asterisk (*), while those on two-way contracts are noted with a caret (^).
All-NBAGL First Team
- DaQuan Jeffries (Stockton Kings)
- Isaac Jones (Motor City Cruise) ^
- Mac McClung (Windy City Bulls) ^
- Tristen Newton (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) ^
- Lester Quinones (Osceola Magic)
All-NBAGL Second Team
- Kobe Bufkin (South Bay Lakers) *
- Killian Hayes (Cleveland Charge) *
- Note: Hayes played for the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate but is on a standard contract with the Kings.
- A.J. Lawson (Raptors 905) ^
- Drew Timme (South Bay Lakers) ^
- Jahmir Young (Sioux Falls Skyforce) ^
All-NBAGL Third Team
- RayJ Dennis (College Park Skyhawks) ^
- PJ Hall (Greensboro Swarm) ^
- Ron Harper Jr. (Maine Celtics) *
- Alijah Martin (Raptors 905) ^
- Daishen Nix (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Dillon Brooks Has Tech Rescinded, Can Play Tuesday
Suns wing Dillon Brooks has received a reprieve from the league office.
His technical foul that was issued with 7:24 remaining in the fourth quarter of Phoenix’s game against the Bulls on Sunday has been rescinded, per the NBA (Twitter link). Brooks had faced a suspension for picking up his 18th technical, which would have triggered an automatic one-game league ban. He’ll now be able to suit up against his former team, the Rockets, on Tuesday.
Brooks and Bulls guard Mac McClung both received technicals for a verbal dust-up during the contest. McClung’s technical was also rescinded by the league.
Brooks was previously suspended for the Suns’ game against the Spurs on Feb. 19 after receiving his 16th technical the previous week. Brooks then broke his left hand against Orlando on Feb. 21 and missed more than five weeks of action. He returned last Tuesday and was assessed his 17th tech that night. He has averaged 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists over the last three games.
A player who accumulates 16 technical fouls in a season is automatically assessed a one-game suspension and faces additional one-game bans for every two techs beyond that.
Phoenix, which has the seventh-best record in the West, is still clinging to small hopes of moving past Minnesota and avoiding the play-in tournament.
Bulls Notes: Donovan, McClung, Giddey, Jones, Ivey
Billy Donovan is seriously giving thought to leaving the Bulls at the conclusion of the season, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reports.
Siegel hears that Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd was North Carolina’s top choice to become its head coach. However, Lloyd agreed to a five-year deal to stay at Arizona, which makes Donovan the Tar Heels’ clear choice for the job.
Donovan is committed to the Bulls through the remainder of the season and won’t make any decisions on his future until April 12, Siegel adds. However, there is a growing belief around the league that Donovan will leave the franchise.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Mac McClung has done it again. The three-time NBA dunk contest champion has been named NBA G League MVP for the second time, the NBA announced (via Twitter). McClung, who is on a two-way contract, has been playing for the Windy City Bulls. The 27-year-old guard put up huge numbers in the regular season, averaging a G League-best 31.8 points, 7.9 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .515/.381/.781 shooting in 29 games (37.3 minutes per contest). Rockets two-way guard Tristen Newton and Kings swingman DaQuan Jeffries finished second and third in voting, respectively.
- Josh Giddey (hamstring) and Tre Jones (ankle) have been upgraded to probable for tonight’s game against the Knicks, K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network tweets. McClung is also probable with abdominal tightness.
- Brian Sandalow of the Chicago Sun Times details how the team has tried to move on from the Jaden Ivey saga. Ivey was waived earlier in the week following several controversial live streams on social media, among other factors.
Central Notes: Nance, Cunningham, Cavs, McClung
When the Bucks promoted forward Pete Nance to their 15-man roster, they dipped into their room exception to sign him to a new three-year, $5.81MM contract that exceeds a minimum deal in terms of both first-year salary and total years, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.
The Bucks used roughly $5.13MM of their room exception last summer to re-sign Kevin Porter Jr., and it has been prorating downward since January 10, but the team still had a portion of it left to put toward Nance’s contract.
Nance received a $600K salary for the rest of this season, well above his prorated minimum of $277,137. As a trade-off, the deal includes a non-guaranteed minimum salary ($2,497,812) for 2026/27, with a non-guaranteed minimum-salary team option ($2,707,612) for ’27/28.
Nance’s 2026/27 salary would become guaranteed if he remains under contract through July 4, 2026.
We have more from around the Central:
- In the wake of the NBPA issuing a statement criticizing the 65-game rule in support of Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, agent Jeff Schwartz added his voice to those arguing that his client doesn’t deserve to miss out on All-NBA recognition this season. “Cade has delivered a first-team All-NBA season,” Schwartz told ESPN’s Shams Charania. “If he falls just short of an arbitrary games-played threshold due to legitimate injury, it should not disqualify him from recognition he has clearly earned over the course of the season. The league should be rewarding excellence, not enforcing rigid cutoffs that ignore context. An exception needs to be made.” Cunningham, who was diagnosed last week with a collapsed lung, appears unlikely to make the five additional appearances necessary to meet the 65-game threshold.
- The Cavaliers beat Orlando on Tuesday for their fourth consecutive win, but head coach Kenny Atkinson expressed displeasure after the game with his defense, which surrendered 131 points in the victory, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “I just told the team in the locker room, if we’re going to play defense like this, we’re going to have a short playoff stint,” Atkinson said. “… We’re the number one offensive team over the last (several) games. But there’s two sides of the ball. We’re tilted one way right now. … You have to be good on both ends. You got to be top 10 (on) offense and defense; it gives you the best chance. We’re not.” Atkinson added that the “guys who defend” will be the ones who are part of his rotation in the playoffs.
- One of just two players in NBA history to win three dunk contests, Bulls two-way guard Mac McClung now holds another record. He’s the G League’s new all-time leading scorer across the regular season, Tip-Off Tournament, and postseason, having surpassed Renaldo Major‘s 5,299 total points, according to the league (Twitter link). Major still holds the NBAGL record for regular season points (5,058).
Bulls Notes: Dillingham, Ivey, McClung, Essengue
Former Timberwolves lottery pick Rob Dillingham continues to settle in with his new team, the Bulls. In his last three games, Dillingham has averaged 13 points and five assists while shooting 6-of-15 (40%) from three-point range, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes.
Dillingham has received steady playing time after getting traded last month, unlike his experience with Minnesota.
“I’m just thankful for Coach (Billy Donovan), honestly,” Dillingham said. “Giving me that leash, it’s like I’m renewed. I’ve been able to play freely. My mental when I’ve been out on the court has been bad like for the last couple months, so I’m just thankful that I’m able to play, able to add confidence, able to help us win, and really, I’m just thankful to learn and keep growing.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Another trade deadline acquisition, Jaden Ivey, will be a restricted free agent after the season if the Bulls issue a qualifying offer. Though he’s only played four games with Chicago due to left knee soreness, the organization continues to signal that it intends to retain him, Cowley reports. “The unfortunate part was that when he got here, you’re dealing with him coming into a completely new situation after the trade deadline and then trying to get acclimated,” Donovan said. “I mean, the intention when [made the trade] is this could be somebody that would be here for a while. How all this plays out with the contract in July and the free agency part of it, understanding he’s restricted, I don’t know. But our intention organizationally was, this is a guy we feel could be a very, very good player, and this guy’s got a pretty long runway of being somewhat youthful and young.” Ivey, currently sidelined, will be reevaluated next week.
- Mac McClung has been thriving in the NBA G League with the Windy City Bulls. Under a two-way contract with Chicago, the three-time dunk champion was named the G League’s Player of the Week (March 9-15) by averaging 38.3 points and 12.3 assists in three games, according to the league office (Twitter link). McClung was recognized as the G League’s Player of the Month for February.
- Rookie Noa Essengue was declared out for the season in early December due to a shoulder injury. However, he’s still working diligently on his comeback. Essengue was shooting and undergoing a full, non-contact workout after Bulls practice on Tuesday, K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network tweets.
Eastern Notes: Young, Ellis, Jackson, Nets, G League Awards
His Wizards debut won’t happen until Thursday, but Trae Young has already earned his first ejection as a member of his new team. As Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes, Young was lobbying for referees in Monday’s game to make a call on Tari Eason after the Rockets forward shoved Wizards wing Jamir Watkins multiple times. Young was initially called for a technical foul before officials conferred and ejected him for walking onto the court.
Head coach Brian Keefe explained to reporters after the game why he didn’t mind the ejection.
“I think he was just sticking up for his teammates, which I thought was great,” Keefe said. “Obviously, the refs missed a call, (in) which our guy got knocked down, and I loved how our teammates stuck with him. So, whatever happened in that moment, I was actually proud of him, because he stuck up for us teammates, and I really care about that type of stuff.”
Young didn’t speak to reporters about the incident, but tweeted a laughing emoji accompanied by the message, “Don’t expect me to get ejected too many more times, D.C. But I’m definitely bringing that energy and competitiveness when I’m back for my brothers!”
According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), Young isn’t expected to face any additional discipline from the league office for coming onto the court from the bench.
We have more from around the Eastern Conference:
- While he was somewhat overshadowed at the deadline because the Cavaliers also acquired James Harden and Dennis Schröder, guard Keon Ellis has impressed his new teammates and head coach with his tenacity on defense, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). A potential 2026 unrestricted free agent who is currently eligible for a contract extension, Ellis had an incredible five blocks and three steals in Sunday’s win in Brooklyn. “He never gives up on a play,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I’ve never quite seen a player like him defensively. He’s not a massive guy but he plays way bigger than he looks. Length counts. Activity counts. He makes up for probably the strength deficit with his activity.”
- Quenton Jackson‘s new three-year deal with the Pacers will pay him $601,553 – his minimum – for the rest of the season and includes a partial guarantee of $275K on his minimum salary ($2,584,539) for 2026/27, Hoops Rumors has learned. Indiana used a portion of its mid-level exception to complete the signing, which includes a fully non-guaranteed third year.
- The Nets have lost eight straight games to drop to 15-45 on the season, but they’re seeing positive development from rookies like Nolan Traore and Danny Wolf. Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required) takes a look at the strides Traore is making, while Peter Botte of The New York Post examines Wolf’s growth.
- Although MarJon Beauchamp has only appeared in two NBA games since signing a two-way contract with the Sixers in December, he’s putting up some big numbers for the Delaware Blue Coats. Beauchamp was named the G League’s latest Player of the Week for averaging 32.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in a pair of Blue Coats victories (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Bulls two-way guard Mac McClung was named the league’s Player of the Month for February after averaging 33.0 PPG and scoring no fewer than 24 points in any of his seven games last month for the Windy City Bulls (Twitter link).
Bulls Notes: Ivey, Dillingham, McClung, Guards
The Bulls have positioned themselves as the league’s preeminent “second draft” team, Fred Katz writes for The Athletic, referencing recent moves for young players in need of a change of scenery.
One such player is the newly acquired Jaden Ivey, who came to Chicago in a three-team trade involving Kevin Huerter. Like Josh Giddey when he was acquired by the Bulls, Ivey is nearing restricted free agency and had lost clarity in his role with the highly successful team that drafted him — though in Ivey’s case, that was due in large part to the broken leg that sidelined him for much of last season.
Ivey is not in a position where he’ll be handed control of the Bulls’ offense, Katz writes, especially with the number of guards on the roster, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be in a position to excel.
Katz notes that Ivey has shot the three exceptionally well since the start of last season, and the Bulls, who traded two free agent-to-be point guards at the deadline, will have ample cap space this summer. If Ivey can return to his physical form while continuing to shoot at a high level, there could be a spot for him next to Giddey in the backcourt.
We have more from the Bulls:
- Another new addition to the Bulls’ backcourt is second-year guard Rob Dillingham. Head coach Billy Donovan has been impressed by Dillingham’s speed and ability to penetrate the defense but wants much more from him as a processor of the game. “The decision-making, the shots that he’s taking, are not sustainable. And I told him that,” Donovan said, per The Athletic’s Joel Lorenzi (Twitter link). “His job and responsibility is to generate shots for guys when he gets there… it’s not like I’m giving him free rein. We need him downhill, but he also can’t be jumping off of two feet, getting caught in the air, shooting over guys, trying to throw passes that aren’t there. He’s gotta clean that up, and we’ve gotta help him do it.” Donovan added that he wants Dillingham to maintain his level of aggression and that he believes the young guard will find that balance with time.
- Chicago recently signed three-time Dunk Contest champion Mac McClung to a two-way deal, which represents the latest step towards McClung reaching his dream of carving out a role for himself in the NBA. The 27-year-old guard turned down highly lucrative offers overseas to play in the G League and stay ready for his call-up, Anthony Olivieri writes for ESPN. “This [NBA quest] is where my heart’s at,” McClung said. “… You can’t keep telling me no forever.”
- The Bulls players know that the team they’re on is strangely constructed and not built for longevity, Lorenzi writes, but that just makes the challenge for players like Anfernee Simons more interesting. “This not a normal situation,” Simons said earlier in the week, shaking his head. “Seven new guys, six of them are playing heavy minutes and we have to just learn on the fly like that. It’s just gonna take tons of communication. Experience. Just going through it together with mistakes and everything… Obviously, we want to win. That’s the end goal. Right now is the time that we learn each other and learn from our mistakes and just try to build something from there.” With Simons, the maniacally competitive Collin Sexton, and Ivey all in contract years, the team is loaded with new guards who will be motivated to perform at a high level in the next couple months. The team will likely lose many games, but it won’t be for lack of trying on the part of the players.
Ace Bailey, Bub Carrington, Jahmir Young Added To Rising Stars Event
Jazz forward Ace Bailey, Wizards guard Bub Carrington and Heat guard Jahmir Young have been selected to participate in Friday’s Rising Stars competition as injury replacements, the NBA announced in a series of tweets.
Bailey will replace Mavericks star Cooper Flagg, who is unavailable due to a left midfoot sprain, while Carrington will take the place of his Wizards teammate, Alex Sarr, who is sidelined by a strained hamstring. Young will fill in for Bulls guard Mac McClung, who is out with a right calf injury.
Bailey will be part of Team Melo, coached by Carmelo Anthony, Carrington will be on Team T-Mac, coached by Tracy McGrady, and Young is on Team Austin, coached by Austin Rivers.
Selected with the fifth pick in last year’s draft, Bailey is part of a talented rookie class throughout the league. The 19-year-old has appeared in 48 games, making 37 starts, and is averaging 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.2 minutes per night with .449/.343/.708 shooting numbers.
Carrington, 20, was the 14th pick in the 2024 draft. He hasn’t missed a game in his NBA career and is averaging 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists in his second season with .402/.393/.761 shooting splits.
Young has spent most of the season in the G League and has only appeared in eight games with Miami. The 25-year-old is averaging 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists in 16 regular season games with Sioux Falls.
The Rising Stars event will match three teams consisting of NBA rookies and sophomores, along with a fourth team of G League players. They will compete in a three-game tournament to crown the winner.
Bulls Sign Mac McClung To Two-Way Contract
9:19 am: McClung has officially signed his two-way contract with the Bulls, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
8:08 am: One of two NBA teams with an open two-way slot, the Bulls will fill their opening by signing guard Mac McClung to a two-way contract, a source tells Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
It will be the fourth contract McClung has signed with the Bulls since he went undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2021. The 6’2″ guard inked a pair of 10-day deals with Chicago as a rookie, then completed an Exhibit 10 deal with the team this past fall, lining him up to play for the Windy City Bulls in the G League this season.
A former G League MVP, McClung is having another standout year at that level — in 24 outings for the Bulls’ affiliate, he has averaged 25.4 points, 7.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 34.5 minutes per game, with a .518/.353/.813 shooting line.
While McClung has made just nine total regular season appearances for five different teams since going pro, the 27-year-old has become a household name among NBA fans with his performances in the league’s slam dunk contest. McClung won the contest in 2023, 2024, and 2025, but reportedly won’t be defending his title again this year.
The Bulls have an open two-way slot after sending Emanuel Miller to Cleveland in Sunday’s three-team trade involving the Cavaliers and Kings. McClung will join Lachlan Olbrich and Yuki Kawamura as Chicago’s two-way players and will be eligible to be active for up to 19 regular season games for the Bulls.
Once McClung’s deal is official, the Bucks will be the only team with a two-way opening.
And-Ones: Thibodeau, Dunk Contest, McClung, Buzelis, More
Tom Thibodeau isn’t coaching anywhere this season after being let go by the Knicks during the offseason, but the 68-year-old isn’t planning to transition into retirement. Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Monday, Thibodeau told Frank Isola of The Starting Lineup that he’d like to coach again.
“I love the game,” Thibodeau said (Twitter link via Steve Popper of Newsday). “Obviously I’m preparing for the next opportunity. So hopefully I’ll be ready for it.”
This is only the third season since 2010 that Thibodeau hasn’t been the head coach of an NBA team. He coached the Bulls from 2010-15, sat out the 2015/16 season, coached the Timberwolves from 2017-19, and sat out in ’19/20 before being hired by the Knicks in 2020. That pattern suggests he’ll be on the lookout for a new head coaching job this spring.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Three-time slam dunk contest champion Mac McClung won’t be returning to defend his crown in 2026, his father Marcus McClung confirmed to Anthony Olivieri of ESPN. “Not going to be four in a row,” Marcus said in a text message. “Not one reason that I could say that was the main reason. In my opinion it is more like a bunch of reasons that just pointed to him not doing it.” The 27-year-old guard, who is playing for the Windy City Bulls this season, tweeted, “But since we prepared for it…I’ll be releasing the dunks we came up with after the contest.”
- Bulls forward Matas Buzelis was invited back to the dunk contest after taking part last season, but turned down the invitation, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “They did ask me, but unfortunately I’m going to decline this year,” Buzelis said. “I’m trying to listen to my body and this stretch of games coming up is going to be very important for us. Hopefully I get invited another year because I would love to do it. … It’s a lot of work to prepare for the dunk contest and I didn’t even prepare as well as I should have last year. Probably had two practices to practice my dunks. It takes a toll on your body.”
- Keith Smith of Spotrac previews the trade deadline for the 15 teams in the Eastern Conference, laying out each club’s position relative to the cap, tax, and apron levels, its notable trade exceptions and tradable draft picks, a potential deadline strategy, and the most likely player to be moved.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic takes a closer look at Illinois guard Keaton Wagler, writing that a breakout freshman year has turned Wagler from an unheralded recruit into a surefire 2026 lottery pick.