Two dozen top NBA D-League players, including 15 with NBA experience, have been selected to play in the 2017 NBA D-League All-Star Game, which tips off on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET from Superdome in New Orleans.
Six current NBA players, including five who have earned Call-Ups to the NBA this season, highlight the 12-man East and West rosters. The East team features Yogi Ferrell (Long Island Nets/Dallas Mavericks), Ray McCallum (Grand Rapids Drive/Charlotte Hornets) and Chris McCullough (Long Island Nets/Brooklyn Nets). The West team is headlined by Johnny O’Bryant III (Northern Arizona Suns/Denver Nuggets), Briante Weber (Sioux Falls Skyforce/Golden State Warriors) and Okaro White (Sioux Falls Skyforce/Miami Heat). Ferrell will sign a two-year deal with the Mavericks after his current 10-day expires.
An additional nine players with NBA experience have been selected to play in the 11th annual game: Anthony Brown (Erie BayHawks), Eric Moreland (Canton Charge) and Edy Tavares (Raptors 905) in the East, and Keith Benson (Sioux Falls Skyforce), Vander Blue (Los Angeles D-Fenders), Justin Harper (Los Angeles D-Fenders), Pierre Jackson (Texas Legends), Cory Jefferson (Austin Spurs) and JaKarr Sampson (Iowa Energy) in the West.
The East team, coached by two-time NBA All-Star and Raptors 905 head coach Jerry Stackhouse, is rounded out by Quinn Cook (Canton Charge), Marcus Georges-Hunt (Maine Red Claws), Jalen Jones (Maine Red Claws), Shawn Long (Delaware 87ers), Abdel Nader (Maine Red Claws) and Alex Poythress (Fort Wayne Mad Ants).
The West team also includes Dennis Clifford (Santa Cruz Warriors), Dakari Johnson (Oklahoma City Blue) and Josh Magette (Los Angeles D-Fenders). Los Angeles D-Fenders head coach Coby Karl, an NBA and NBA D-League veteran, will lead the West. Johnson was also named D-League Performer of the Week.
Six of the NBA D-League’s top 10 scorers were selected as All-Stars, with Cook (25.8 ppg), Blue (24.8 ppg) and Nader (22.5 ppg) ranking in the top five. Three of the league’s top five rebounders will also play in the game: Moreland (11.7 rpg), Long (11.2 rpg) and Benson (10.7 rpg). Magette (9.5 apg) leads the league in assists.
The 2017 NBA D-League All-Stars were selected by a combined vote of the league’s 22 head coaches and all players in the league on Jan. 29. Players were eligible to be selected if they competed in at least half of their teams’ games through that date. They must be on an active NBA D-League roster at the time of the All-Star Game to participate. The league will replace any injured or ineligible players prior to the game.
The 2017 NBA D-League All-Star teams are below.
EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
Player (Team) Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate College/Country
Anthony Brown (Erie) G 6-7 211 10/10/1992 Stanford/USA
Quinn Cook (Canton) G 6-2 179 3/23/1993 Duke/USA
Yogi Ferrell (Long Island)* G 6-0 178 5/9/1993 Indiana/USA
Marcus Georges-Hunt (Maine) F 6-6 220 3/28/1994 Georgia Tech/USA
Jalen Jones (Maine) F 6-7 220 5/27/1993 Texas A&M/USA
Shawn Long (Delaware) C 6-9 248 1/29/1993 Louisiana-Lafayette/USA
Ray McCallum (Grand Rapids)* G 6-3 190 6/12/1991 Detroit/USA
Chris McCullough (Long Island)* F 6-9 199 2/5/1995 Syracuse/USA
Eric Moreland (Canton) F 6-10 249 12/24/1991 Oregon State/USA
Abdel Nader (Maine) F 6-8 225 9/25/1993 Iowa State/Egypt
Alex Poythress (Fort Wayne) F 6-7 235 9/6/1993 Kentucky/USA
Edy Tavares (Raptors 905) C 7-2 260 3/22/1992 Cape Verde
Head Coach: Jerry Stackhouse (Raptors 905)
Assistant Coaches: Donnie Tyndall (Raptors 905), David Gale (Raptors 905), Nathaniel Mitchell (Raptors 905), John Corbacio (Raptors 905), Nicki Gross (Raptors 905)
Athletic Trainer: Giovanni Sardella (Raptors 905)
WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
Player (Team) Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate College/Country
Keith Benson (Sioux Falls) C 6-11 235 8/13/1988 Oakland/USA
Vander Blue (Los Angeles) G 6-4 200 7/17/1992 Marquette/USA
Dennis Clifford (Santa Cruz) C 7-1 260 2/29/1992 Boston College/USA
Justin Harper (Los Angeles) F 6-10 225 8/30/1989 Richmond/USA
Pierre Jackson (Texas) G 5-11 176 8/29/1991 Baylor/USA
Cory Jefferson (Austin) F 6-9 218 12/26/1990 Baylor/USA
Dakari Johnson (Oklahoma City) C 7-0 255 9/22/1995 Kentucky/USA
Josh Magette (Los Angeles) G 6-1 160 11/28/1989 Alabama-Huntsville/USA
Johnny O’Bryant III (Northern Arizona)* F 6-9 257 6/1/1993 Louisiana State/USA
JaKarr Sampson (Iowa) F 6-9 207 3/20/1993 St. John’s/USA
Briante Weber (Sioux Falls)* G 6-2 165 12/29/1992 Va. Commonwealth/USA
Okaro White (Sioux Falls)* F 6-8 215 8/13/1992 Florida State/USA
Head Coach: Coby Karl (Los Angeles)
Assistant Coaches: Paul Woolpert (Los Angeles), Brian Walsh (Los Angeles), Isaiah Fox (Los Angeles)
Athletic Trainer: Heather Mau (Los Angeles)
