OKC Thunder Rookie Earning Votes for G League All-Star Game

On Tuesday, the G League released a list of the 10 players receiving the most fan votes for the 2024 G League Up Next Game.

On Feb. 18, the NBA G League will host its all-star event, known as the G League Next Up Game. 

Similar to NBA all-star voting, the fan vote is an important element of the Next Up Game's selection process.

On Tuesday, the G League released a list of the 10 players who have received the most votes thus far, with a member of Oklahoma City's G League affiliate landing in the top four.  

Two-Way star Markquis Nowell of @Raptors905 leads the way after one week of fan voting for the #GLeagueUpNextGame presented by @ATT! Vote to send your favorite G League stars to #NBAAllStar in Indy at https://t.co/PCmGBnR0AQ or on the G League App.

📲: https://t.co/ba6kpAPUkq pic.twitter.com/CdlZ8OOlsX

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) January 9, 2024

Keyontae Johnson, a two-way rookie who has played almost exclusively for the OKC Blue this year, comes in at number four. The second-round draft pick out of Kansas State has logged a total of six minutes in the NBA this season but has been very effective playing in the G League.

In his first seven career games with the Blue, Johnson is averaging 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 53.8% from the field.

Hours after the G League released its list of fan-vote leaders, Johnson went off for arguably the best performance of his professional career. Against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Tuesday night, Johnson notched 33 points and 11 rebounds while shooting over 60% from the field, leading Oklahoma City within two of the Houston Rockets G League affiliate. 

While Johnson has not played much for the Thunder this season, if he continues to perform and develop well with the Blue, it would not be shocking to see him earn a few more minutes in the NBA in the coming seasons.

Coming in fourth place in the first week fan vote, Johnson trails only his college teammate Markquis Nowell, Luka Garza and Emoni Bates. Rounding out the list was former Thunder forward Darius Bazley, who came in at No. 10. 

Playing with the Delaware Blue Coats this season, Bazley is averaging 20.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.8 blocks and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. 

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