Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
STOCKTON, CA. – The Greensboro Swarm, the NBA G League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, were crowned NBA G League Champions on Friday at Adventist Health Arena, defeating the Stockton Kings, 119-104, and swept the series, 2-0.
Greensboro earned its first NBA G League Championship, while the Charlotte Hornets became the first organization to ever win the NBA Las Vegas Summer League and NBA G League Championship in the same season. Two-way forward Tosan Evbuomwan earned NBA G League Finals MVP honors, averaging 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the series, shooting 50.0 percent (12-of-24) from the field while adding 1.5 steals.
The Swarm was paced by Evbuomwan’s 22 points and seven rebounds, with Liam McNeeley and Jaylen Sims recording 21 and 20 points, respectively. Tidjane Salaun and Antonio Reeves also posted 19 and 15 points, with Greensboro holding the Kings to five 3-pointers.
Stockton was led by a trio of 20-point scorers in DaQuan Jeffries (27), Dexter Dennis (24) and Patrick Baldwin Jr. (20).
Greensboro tipped off the contest with a 7-2 run, building to an 11-5 stint behind four scorers. The Swarm retained its lead for the duration of the frame, posting a 17-10 edge, and staying up, 25-19, through the quarter’s end.
The Swarm and Kings traded possessions for most of the opening segments of the half, with Greensboro stacking its lead to nine on multiple occasions. Reeves erupted in the half, drilling five 3-pointers in all – including one at the 4:55 mark to hand Greensboro its first- double-digit lead, ahead 46-34. At halftime the Swarm was ahead, 62-50.
Stockton opened the second half on a 7–0 run, trimming the deficit to five before a timely drive from McNeeley produced a pair of free throws to briefly halt the surge. The Kings kept their foot on the gas, capping a 25–13 stretch by tying the game at 75–75 with 5:17 remaining in the quarter. Greensboro kept the seal on the lead with five-straight points, holding on for an 89-83 lead at the close of the quarter.
Greensboro and Stockton exchanged jabs to open the fourth quarter – but the Swarm rallied, moving its lead back to double digits with seven minutes to play. Stockton drew the game back to single digits in the closing half of play, but a pair of back-to-back threes from Sims and Evbuomwan put the game out of reach.
The Swarm became the first NBA G League Champion since the 2022-23 season to sweep the entire playoff bracket, among non-single-elimination formats.
