G League Power Rankings 2.0
The first full month of the season has come and gone, so let’s see how the teams stack up so far.
With one month gone we continue out biweekly glimpse into each team, and where they rank among their peers.
All available information was used to support these rankings including: record, statistics, rosters, coaches, quality wins, poor losses and numerous other factors. Come with us as we take a deep dive into the top-10 and then give a quick glimpse into the remaining teams.
This season 12 teams make the playoffs as opposed to eight in past years. With roughly 20 percent of the season gone, there is still ample time for teams to add talent, make necessary moves and ultimately win more games.
1. South Bay Lakers — Record: 8–1
Previous rank: 1
South Bay is the most offensively efficient team in the league right now. They are second in scoring (121.0 per game) only to the run-and-gun RGV Vipers, but they take almost six less shots per game than RGV as well.
Right now, they lead the league in field goal percentage (52.0) and 3-point percentage (46.4), and quite frankly teams cannot stop their offense. It certainly helps having Thomas Bryant in seven of their first nine games. This will continue going forward as the young Los Angeles Lakers have no minutes for Bryant. He’s been unreal posting averages of 21.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. He’s also hitting almost 60 percent of his field goals and over 46 percent of his 3s.
Throw Alex Caruso and Vander Blue on the perimeter and South Bay is looking damn hard to beat.
2. Fort Wayne Mad Ants — Record: 8–1
Previous rank: 3
After losing on opening night, the Mad Ants have rattled on eight straight wins under Steve Gansey. The organization is making a focused effort to utilize positionless basketball and it’s working on both ends.
Walt Lemon Jr. looks unguardable and his penetration leads to open looks for his partner in crime Jarrod Uthoff. Their only real issue early has been a lack of depth. Gansey is basically rolling out a six-man rotation with Lemon, Uthoff, Stephan Hicks, C.J. Fair and DeQuan Jones with Ben Moore coming off the bench and playing starter minutes.
Two-way player Alex Poythress and returning guard Trey McKinney-Jones should both be back from injury early next week, so one of the best teams in the league getting reinforcements has to be scary for everyone else. The key is both of those players fit the positionless style Fort Wayne is going for, so if they can assimilate into the rotation with a minimal learning curve it well help their depth immensely.
3. Austin Spurs — Record: 8–3
Previous rank: 4
Many teams lost players to the FIBA World Cup qualifying games over the past few weeks and Austin was no different as Olivier Hanlan played with Canada. Unlike most of their counterparts, Austin did not miss a beat and went 4–1 during this time. This doesn’t diminish Hanlan’s importance, but illuminates the team-first culture in Austin — similar to San Antonio, of course.
Coach Ahearn has the Spurs winning the battle on the boards where they rank fifth in the league. Their only real missing piece is a table-setter as nobody averages more than 4.2 assists per game (Jeff Ledbetter off the bench), however they combat this will another collective effort. Five players average 2.5 assists or more, as they don’t rely on a heavy pick-and-roll based offense like most teams.
Rookie Jaron Blossomgame has been key to their rebounding efforts. As a forward, who plays mostly on the perimeter, he’s pulling down 9.1 per game, and over his last four games is snagging 10.2 boards.
4. Rio Grande Valley Vipers — Record: 9–3
Previous rank: 12
The Vipers lead the league in scoring (124.5 points per game) and pace (110.68). After dropping their first three games, they have now won a league-high nine straight vaulting them into our top-5.
RGV quite simply has the most talent in the league. Sometimes that’s great, sometimes it’s going to be difficult for coach Matt Brase to find minutes to keep everyone happy. They’ve had the luxury of multiple NBA guys being on assignment with Chinanu Onuaku (12 games), Monte Morris (12), Troy Williams (9), Demetrius Jackon (9) and Briante Weber (8) all available.
They also have former NBA guys R.J. Hunter, Danuel House and Tony Wroten. Hunter has been electric off the bench for the Vipers averaging 17.7 points while shooting just under 40 percent from 3. They score in bunches and as long as they can play just enough defense (22nd in the league) when it counts, they will be alright.
5. Santa Cruz Warriors — Record: 7–5
Previous rank: 2
The Warriors dropped three spots from our last rankings, but had some unexpected issues. Antonius Cleveland is now with the Dallas Mavericks on a two-way deal and Michael Gbinije has missed a few games with an injury.
Lucky for them, they had Damion Lee ready and waiting for more minutes to replace Gbinije. Lee is really coming on strong after an expected slow start to the season. He’s coming off ACL surgery and once he’s back in the groove he should prove to be one of the best wings in this league.
Quinn Cook is vital to their success as one of the best players in this league. The team is 6–2 when he plays and just 1–3 without him. He can score, distribute and just make quality plays when called upon. Cook is an NBA talent through and through, so clearly his presence takes this team to an elite level.
6. Westchester Knicks — Record: 7–4
Previous rank: 8
The Knicks have been a team of streaks. They won three, lost three, won four and now lost their last game. Their starting five is deadly with Trey Burke, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Nigel Hayes, Isaiah Hicks and Luke Kornet.
The latter two mentioned above are on two-way contracts but have played all 11 games in Westchester so far. Their inside-outside dual threat is working very nicely, and Hicks is really showing a scoring prowess with more space to work as a professional.
Burke steers the ship and is their go-to scorer at 24.0 points and 6.1 assists per night. Their depth can be an issue, but assignees like Ron Baker and Damyeon Dotson can rectify that problem when called upon.
7. Maine Red Claws — Record: 6–3
Previous rank: 6
Maine started hot at 4–2, but went 2–2 over the past two weeks. Still, they are a top-10 squad right now.
Brandon Bailey and the Red Claws are stretching teams out and making it very difficult to guard everyone. Every major contributor — sans Devin Williams — is a 3-point threat as they have eight rotational players averaging at least one made 3 per game with five of them hitting them at a rate of 37 percent or better.
The two surprises so far have been Daniel Dixon — 16.3 points with splits of 44/40/92 — and Trey Davis — 17.9 points with splits of 53/50/89. Davis leads the team at 5.4 assists per night as well, and he’s doing all of this in under 23 minutes a contest.
8. Agua Caliente Clippers — Record: 6–4
Previous rank: 7
The Clippers lost Kendall Marshall to a surprise retirement a couple weeks ago, and while his loss could hurt in the long-term, they’ve been fine since.
Second year guard Tyrone Wallace is really improving right before our eyes. Last year he struggled while with the Salt Lake City Stars, but this season he’s averaging 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting almost 53 percent. Wallace is the clear leader on this team, even when their two-way guys are playing and that will be key as the season progresses.
LaDontae Henton has struggled to meet high expectations coming into his second G League season, but if he can turn it around it adds another deadly scorer on the perimeter. Guys like Andre Dawkins, J.J. O’Brien and Tyler Roberson should improve and increase productivity as well. If they don’t, the Clippers could really struggle against some of the top teams in the league.
9. Wisconsin Herd — Record: 6–3
Previous rank: 10
Don’t be upset Herd fans. After starting 6–1, the Herd have now dropped two straight, so they moved up but not as much as fans might have hoped.
This team has three of the league’s most dangerous scorers in James Young (27.7), Xavier Munford (24.8) and Cliff Alexander (20.0). The great news is they all play different positions as well. Alexander mans the paint, Young is a catch-and-shoot killer and Munford runs the show from the point.
Once the Herd acclimate the others around these three — and get more games from their two-way guys (only three combined from Joel Bolomboy and Gary Payton II) — they could be deadly. If Michael Dunigan, Kyle Casey, JeQuan Lewis and newcomer Cameron Oliver are willing to accept supporting roles, it will prove troublesome for most opponents.
10. Lakeland Magic — Record: 6–3
Previous rank: 5
Lakeland really has trouble scoring (23rd) right now. Rodney Purvis leads the way at 21.3 points a night, but once Adreian Payne is fully-healed from his injury he will likely take that top spot. Payne returned for his first two games of the season and is averaging 21.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in under 23 minutes a night.
Khem Birch and Wesley Iwundu are godsends for this club. Hopefully Orlando will keep assigning them to Lakeland to help with some additional scoring threats, but also on the defensive end. Birch pulls down a team high 10.1 rebounds and blocks 2.4 shots per night, while Iwundu has played stifling on-ball defense during his seven games with Lakeland.
Troy Caupain has been a well-rounded option at 14.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists, but guys like T.J. Price, Kyle Randall and Maverick Rowan really need to step up off the bench.
11. Long Island Nets — Record: 6–4
Previous rank: 11
Milton Doyle (20.1 points) is the only non-NBA assignee averaging more than 12 points per game for Long Island. That’s bad. The good, they’re 6–4 despite that.
12. Texas Legends — Record: 4–5
Previous rank: 13
The Legends have the leading scorer in the league — Justin Dentmon at 28.9 points — and score almost 120 point nightly, but are dead last in defense, so here we are.
13. Sioux Falls Skyforce — Record: 5–4
Previous rank: 15
When Torrey Craig is active, this is a top-10 team. The issue there is Craig plays for the Denver Nuggets and won’t always be around.
14. Grand Rapids Drive — Record 4–8
Previous rank: 9
The Drive started 4–0 and have since dropped eight straight games. Someone other than Dwight Buycks has to score and they need a guy willing to make plays for others.
15. Raptors 905 — Record: 4–5
Previous rank: 14
The 905 are in the bottom six for points, rebounds and assists, but their defense (1st) allows them to stay in games, and even steal a few. Lorenzo Brown and Bruno Caboclo have to play above their heads for this team to flourish, and even then it’s tough sledding.
16. Oklahoma City Blue — Record: 4–6
Previous rank: 16
The Blue really struggle on the defensive end (24th) and lead the league in turnovers. Daniel Hamilton has been amazing with 19.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 8.7 assists per night, but his 6.4 turnovers are killing them.
17. Erie BayHawks — Record: 5–7
Previous rank: 24
The BayHawks added Raphiael Putney, Jeremy Evans and Roscoe Smith and turned the corner going 4–3 over the past two weeks.
18. Northern Arizona Suns — Record: 3–6
Previous rank: 17
Until defense becomes a priority, this team will falter. They have scorers, but not enough efficient scorers to completely neglect the other end of the floor.
19. Canton Charge — Record: 3–5
Previous rank: 21
When NBA assignees or two-way contract guys aren’t present, JaCorey Williams has been Canton’s best player. Not to take a shot at Williams, but that doesn’t bode well for the Charge.
20. Windy City Bulls — Record: 4–6
Previous rank: 20
Getting Jarell Eddie back from his FIBA service will help, but not enough. Tyler Harris has been a real find for this team. He was cut by Agua Caliente and now averages 16.9 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Bulls.
21. Reno Bighorns — Record: 3–5
Previous rank: 22
PLAY JACK COOLEY MORE.
22. Memphis Hustle — Record: 3–6
Previous rank: 18
Ivan Rabb looks to be the alpha of this roster, so coach Cyprien needs to unleash him for at least 35 minutes a night. Everyone else’s job will be easier in turn.
23. Delaware 87ers — Record: 2–8
Previous rank: 25
The addition of Christian Wood has made this team viable in the East. They still stink, but he sure is fun to watch.
24. Greensboro Swarm — Record: 3–7
Previous rank: 19
The Swarm’s two leading scorers — Jalen Jones and Charles Cooke — play for the New Orleans Pelicans, and the team is 0–4 without them. Yikes. They just re-acquired Cat Barber as a returning player, so hopefully he provides a punch.
25. Iowa Wolves — Record: 2–6
Previous rank: 23
The starting five for this roster — Melo Trimble, Elijah Millsap, Perry Jones III, Anthony Brown and Amile Jefferson — has the talent to win games. Coach Scott Roth has to find a way to utilize their skills to produce wins.
26. Salt Lake City Stars — Record: 1–9
Previous rank: 26
The Stars are out of alignment and it’s going to be a long season. Get ready to see them in this spot for quite some time.
*All statistics and record are through Nov 29
