Hornets’ Affiliate Wins G League Title, Evbuomwan Named Finals MVP
The Hornets‘ G League team, the Greensboro Swarm, denied Sacramento’s affiliate a second consecutive title on Friday, winning the second game of the best-of-three series over the Stockton Kings to win the 2026 NBAGL Finals in a sweep.
After winning Game 1 of the series on Wednesday by a score of 111-107, the Swarm registered a 119-104 victory on Friday in the final game of the G League’s 2025/26 season to earn the organization’s first NBAGL championship.
Hornets two-way player Tosan Evbuomwan was named the G League Finals Most Valuable Player after scoring a team-high 22 points on Friday to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals. In the first game, he contributed 15 points and was a plus-13.
A third-year forward who has previously appeared in NBA games for Memphis, Detroit, Brooklyn, and New York, Evbuomwan didn’t play at all for Charlotte after signing with the team on February 6, but his two-way deal covers two seasons, so the Hornets will have the option of keeping him on the roster to open the 2026/27 season.
Other key contributors for Charlotte’s affiliate in the G League Finals included 2024 lottery pick Tidjane Salaun, who had a double-double in both Game 1 (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Game 2 (19 points, 10 rebounds); 2025 first-rounder Liam McNeeley, who averaged 17.5 PPG in the series; and two-way player Antonio Reeves, who had five three-pointers in Friday’s deciding game.
Salaun has a guaranteed $8.2MM salary for 2026/27 and the Hornets will have to decide by the end of October whether or not to exercise his $10.4MM option for ’27/28. McNeeley’s rookie contract runs through ’28/29, with a decision on his $3MM option for ’26/27 also due on October 31. Reeves, meanwhile, will be a restricted free agent this summer if Charlotte decides to issue him a two-way qualifying offer.
Veteran wing DaQuan Jeffries (26.0 PPG) and shooting guard Dexter Dennis (24.0 PPG) were Stockton’s leading scorers in the two-game series. Neither player is currently under contract with Sacramento.
NBA Closes Investigation Into Kings
The NBA has closed its brief investigation into the Kings without fining the team or penalizing it in any other way, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
As we relayed on Wednesday, the NBA was taking a closer look at a play that occurred in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s loss to Golden State. Leading 101-100 with 3:15 left in the game, Kings head coach Doug Christie instructed his team to intentionally foul sharpshooter Seth Curry off the ball, despite the fact that the Warriors were already in the bonus. The play gave Curry, an 86.4% career free throw shooter, two attempts at the line.
Warriors forward Draymond Green suggested in his post-game remarks that it was the behavior of a blatantly tanking team, but the Kings said it was simply a tactical mistake by Christie, who didn’t realize Golden State was already in the penalty. According to the Kings, Christie wanted the chance to call a timeout that he would have automatically lost once the clock ticked below the three-minute mark.
The NBA said its investigation confirmed Sacramento’s accounting of events. Its statement reads, in part:
“The league’s investigation determined that Christie mistakenly believed that the Warriors were not in the penalty and therefore instructed his team to foul in an attempt to stop the clock and utilize one of the team’s remaining timeouts. The investigation found that Christie made no intentional effort to give the Warriors a shooting foul, or to cause the Kings to lose the game.”
Curry made just one of the two free throws awarded to him as a result of the intentional foul, and the Kings retook the lead on the next possession but ultimately lost the game by a score of 110-105.
Kings Notes: Curry Foul, Lottery Odds, DeRozan, Offseason
The NBA is taking a closer look at the Kings for a play that took place during the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to Golden State on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
Leading by one point with 3:15 left in the game, head coach Doug Christie instructed his team to intentionally foul sharpshooter Seth Curry off the ball, despite the fact that Sacramento was already in the bonus. The play gave Curry, an 86.4% career free throw shooter, two attempts at the line.
Warriors forward Draymond Green suggested in his post-game remarks that it was the behavior of a blatantly tanking team, but Kings sources insist to Slater that it was a strategic mistake by Christie, who didn’t realize his team was already in the penalty. According to those sources, Christie wanted the chance to call a timeout that he would have automatically lost once the clock ticked below the three-minute mark.
For what it’s worth, Curry made just one of his two foul shots and the Kings retook the lead on a Doug McDermott three-pointer on the ensuing possession, so the play wasn’t the reason why Sacramento lost. Additionally, Christie has spoken out against tanking and had backed up those words by leading the Kings to seven wins in their past 15 games entering Tuesday’s contest in Golden State.
We have more on the Kings:
- Sacramento’s recent near-.500 stretch has had lottery ramifications. The Kings had the NBA’s worst record a month ago but are now tied with Utah for the fourth-worst mark in the league, notes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. While Sacramento’s odds at a top-four pick won’t be substantially lower if that’s how the season ends, the club would be at risk of falling as far as No. 8 or No. 9 in the draft in an unfavorable lottery outcome, whereas the NBA’s worst team won’t pick lower than fifth.
- Before sitting out Tuesday’s game due to hamstring soreness, DeMar DeRozan surpassed another NBA legend on the league’s all-time scoring list on Sunday. The veteran wing scored the 26,711th point of his 17-year career, moving past Oscar Robertson for 16th place in NBA history, notes James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link). Next up for DeRozan? Hakeem Olajuwon at 26,946 career points, though catching the former Rockets star will have to wait for next season.
- Keith Smith of Spotrac previews the Kings’ upcoming offseason, suggesting that reducing payroll and committing to a full-fledged rebuild should be atop the club’s to-do list. DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, and De’Andre Hunter should all be trade candidates, Smith suggests. Zach LaVine is also on that list but will be difficult to move, assuming he exercises his $49MM player option, which seems like a pretty safe bet.
Coaching Rumors: Jenkins, Wizards, Mosley, Pelicans, Kerr, More
There wasn’t a whole lot of NBA head coaching turnover last spring, when several teams retained coaches who had previously had interim tags and only the Suns and Knicks made new hires. There haven’t been many changes since then either, with only New Orleans having made an in-season change, though Portland was also forced to elevate assistant Tiago Splitter after Chauncey Billups was arrested in October.
The expectation is that a relatively quiet 12 months on the coaching market could result in an eventful few weeks once the regular season ends, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
“There’s going to be eight to 12 (coaching changes),” one source predicted to Fischer.
With several head coaching jobs expected to open up this spring, Fischer identifies a few candidates to monitor for those openings, naming current assistants Sean Sweeney (Spurs), Micah Nori (Timberwolves), Jared Dudley (Nuggets), Dave Bliss (Thunder), Chris Quinn (Heat), Royal Ivey (Rockets), and Luke Walton (Pistons).
Here are several more coaching-related rumors from Fischer:
- Confirming that Taylor Jenkins is a potential target to watch for the Bucks if they part ways with Doc Rivers, Fischer says there have been “whispers for months” that the Wizards would also have interest in Jenkins if they decide to move on from Brian Keefe. It’s unclear at this point if Washington intends to bring back Keefe for another season as the team aims to take a step toward contention in 2026/27. “It’s very difficult for any young coach to survive a years-long rebuild and (then) oversee a dramatic cultural shift of losing to competing,” one general manager told The Stein Line.
- If the Magic let go of Jamahl Mosley, he’s expected to draw interest from New Orleans, according to Fischer, who says Pelicans general manager Joe Dumars is a fan. James Borrego is also expected to receive consideration for the permanent job in New Orleans, Fischer notes, adding that Bucks assistant Darvin Ham is another candidate to watch if the team conducts a full-fledged search.
- While it’s too early to say what will happen with Steve Kerr, Fischer has heard that the Warriors would ideally like to sign the veteran coach for more than a single season if he decides to return, since team officials would prefer to avoid a “Last Dance scenario,” if possible. Stephen Curry‘s current contract expires in 2027, as does Jimmy Butler‘s. Draymond Green‘s would too if he exercises his 2026/27 player option.
- The Kings are still evaluating Doug Christie‘s performance and are taking into account that injuries decimated his roster this season, Fischer writes. Christie has one more guaranteed year left on his contract (with a 2027/28 team option) and it’s not impossible that he’ll return for next season, Fischer adds.
- Although the Trail Blazers discussed a potential extension for Splitter at one point, per Fischer, the acting head coach’s future is up in the air with new owner Tom Dundon taking over the franchise. Dundon has talked about evaluating every aspect of the organization. That includes its head coach and its front office, according to Fischer, who suggests that changes in the basketball operations department are possible. For what it’s worth, Dundon said recently that general manager Joe Cronin’s job status is “solid.”
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)
Injury Notes: Doncic, Embiid, Sabonis, Smart
With Luka Doncic dealing with a Grade 2 hamstring strain ahead of the postseason, the Lakers find themselves in a difficult position after the star guard led them to a strong second half showing.
Mark Medina of Essentially Sports spoke to three medical experts to get a better sense of the star guard’s injury and recovery outlook. They are Shaheen Jadidi, a primary care sports medicine physician at Endeavor Health, Jesse Morse, a sports medicine physician and non-surgical orthopedic specialist, and Nirav Pandya, a professor at UCSF in orthopedic surgery.
“I’m definitely concerned with a short turnaround,” Pandya said. “In general, these Grade 2 strains usually have a three-to-six-week time frame for players to return from that. When you have a short time period to come back into playoff-level intensity basketball, you really worry about two things. One, can a player come back? Two, even if they come back, how impactful can they be?”
Morse explained what the injury actually means for the layperson and how it impacts Doncic’s recovery.
“Grade 2s are partial tears. Think of a rope just to have a mental visual. A one-inch wide rope is now half-an-inch wide. You’re asking that half-an-inch tendon to do 100% of the work,” he said. “This is a minimum three-week injury, but you have to move mountains to get him back in three weeks. Even if he’s sleeping in hyperbaric chambers, doing stem cells and doing around-the-clock physical therapy in red light, he’s going to be at a very high-risk for reinjury. He’s had other hamstring injuries, so he’ll have a lot of scar tissue. The problem is that scar tissue is weaker and less flexible. Traditionally, that’s what leads to reinjury.”
The three experts went deep into what the rehab process will look like, Doncic’s timeline for return, and expectations for how he’ll play once he resumes on-court activity.
We have more injury news from around the league:
- Joel Embiid will miss the Sixers‘ game against the Pistons on Saturday due to oblique injury management and illness. Embiid played on Friday, but had previously expressed frustration with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and the rest of the team after he was ruled out for Wednesday’s game due to illness. “I guess these guys decide to let me play or not,” Embiid said when asked about playing on Saturday, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscriber link). “So whatever they tell me, I guess I got to follow.” Embiid did note that his right oblique, which he strained in February, took a hit in Friday’s game against the Wolves.
- Domantas Sabonis hasn’t suited up for the Kings since February 4 after suffering a left meniscus tear that required season-ending surgery. However, he was in attendance for Friday’s win against the Pelicans, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee, and says that his goal is to return to on-court activity sometime in July (Twitter link). Sabonis told Anderson that he has been on crutches for the past six weeks.
- Lakers guard Marcus Smart will miss his seventh straight game Sunday at Dallas due to a right leg contusion, per Khobi Price of The California Post (Twitter link).
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.
Pacific Notes: Doncic, Jackson, Harris, Gillespie
If Lakers star Luka Doncic can’t play the remainder of the regular season — which seems likely due to his hamstring injury — he would be the first scoring leader to not make an All-NBA team since 1976, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
Doncic needs to play in one more game to reach the 65-game threshold for All-NBA consideration. The star guard is averaging 33.5 points per game, nearly two more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.6), who’s second in the league. In 1976, Bob McAdoo won his third consecutive scoring title and was second in the MVP race but didn’t make All-NBA.
On a related topic, Doncic’s absence will test the team’s depth, Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times points out. Marcus Smart has missed the last six games with an ankle sprain, though he could return this weekend. Bronny James could see his backcourt role expand in Doncic’s absence.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers, who are already dealing with a number of frontcourt injuries, may not have Isaiah Jackson for the rest of the season. Jackson has a high ankle sprain and will not join the team on its road trip. He will be out at least one week, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register tweets.
- The Kings’ NBA G League GM, Gabriel Harris, is heading to the college ranks, as he’ll be named the University of Memphis Tigers’ general manager, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Harris and the Stockton Kings won the 2025 G League championship.
- Collin Gillespie, who is headed to free agency this summer, set the Suns’ franchise record for three-pointers in a season on Thursday night, according to The Associated Press. Gillespie set the mark in the second quarter of the Suns’ 127-107 loss to the Hornets. He made his 227th three-pointer from the wing, surpassing the record of 226 threes, set by Quentin Richardson in the 2004/05 season. “It’s a great accomplishment,” Gillespie said. “And I’m extremely grateful and thankful to everybody here for helping me, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really mean much right now with the loss.”
Sixers’ Edgecombe, Kings’ Raynaud Named Rookies Of The Month
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe has been named the Eastern Conference’s Rookie of the Month for March, while Kings big man Maxime Raynaud has won the award for the Western Conference, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
Edgecombe’s win prevents Hornets wing Kon Knueppel from achieving a clean sweep of Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards this season. Knueppel earned the honor for October/November, December, January, and February. He was among this month’s nominees in the East, along with Wizards forward Will Riley, per the league (Twitter link).
But it’s Edgecombe that claimed the honor after an impressive March in which he averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 32.7 minutes per game across 13 outings. He posted a solid .454/.361/.895 shooting line for the month, strengthening his case for a spot on this season’s All-Rookie first team.
Over in the West, Raynaud is the third player to receive Rookie of the Month recognition this season, joining Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (Oct./Nov., Dec., and Jan.) and Spurs guard Dylan Harper (Feb.), both of whom were nominated for the March award along with Jazz forward Ace Bailey.
Injuries to Kings centers Domantas Sabonis and Drew Eubanks have cleared the way for Raynaud to play a significant role in Sacramento’s frontcourt since the All-Star break. In 15 March appearances (all starts), he put up 17.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .595/.444/.784 shooting. His most impressive individual stretch came when he had back-to-back 30-point games on March 17 vs. San Antonio and March 19 vs. Philadelphia.
Kings Sign DaQuan Jeffries To 10-Day Contract
The Kings have signed veteran swingman DaQuan Jeffries to a 10-day contract, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
It’s a hardship deal, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), which means Sacramento didn’t have to waive anyone from its 15-man roster to make room for Jeffries. A team qualifies for a hardship exception if it has four players who have missed three or more games due to an injury and illness, assuming those four players are each expected to remain sidelined for at least two more weeks.
Zach LaVine (hand), Domantas Sabonis (knee), De’Andre Hunter (eye), and Drew Eubanks (thumb) all out for the season, so the Kings meet the hardship criteria. Russell Westbrook (foot), Nique Clifford (foot), and Keegan Murray (ankle) are currently on the shelf too, but Westbrook and Clifford haven’t yet missed three consecutive games and the latest update on Murray suggests he should be back within the next two weeks.
Jeffries, 28, began his NBA career with Sacramento back in 2019 after going undrafted out of Tulsa. He has since bounced around the NBA, appearing in 111 total regular season games with the Kings, Rockets, Grizzlies, Knicks, and Hornets from 2019-25. The 6’5″ guard/forward holds career averages of 4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per contest, with a .415/.315/.783 shooting line.
Known as a solid, versatile defender, Jeffries hadn’t been in the NBA at all in 2025/26 until today, having spent the season with the Kings’ G League affiliate in Stockton. In 35 total NBAGL appearances this season, he has averaged 21.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 2.3 APG on .506/.420/.843 shooting, making a strong case for an NBA call-up.
Jeffries will earn $165,197 over the course of his 10-day contract, which will run through April 4, covering Sacramento’s next five games. The Kings will take on a cap hit of $131,970.