Philadelphia 76ers’ Affiliate Wins NBA G League Finals

For the first time, the Delaware Blue Coats are NBA G League Finals Champions. Although the Philadelphia 76ers’ affiliate made a run to the Finals over the last two seasons, they came up short twice. This year was different, however.

On Tuesday night, the Blue Coats hosted the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Game 1 of the best-of-three series. With a dominant showing by Jaden Springer and Mac McClung, the Blue Coats defeated the Vipers 134-120 in Game 1.

On Thursday, Delaware had a chance to close out the series on the road. Once again, the Slam Dunk Champion Mac McClung turned in a 30-point effort in nearly 40 minutes on the court. He knocked down eight of his 18 shots, drilling five of his three-pointers.

Along with his 30 points, McClung produced eight assists while coming down with four rebounds. Meanwhile, Jaden Springer put up 18 shots of his own. While he struggled from the field overall, knocking down just six of his shots, Springer went 3-5 from deep.

The Sixers’ second-year guard wrapped up the night with 21 points, nine rebounds, one assist, and a block. Springer and McClung also got a boost from the forward Braxton Key, who turned in an efficient shooting night to put up 22 points in 37 minutes.

While Game 2 was a much closer outing than the first go-round with Rio Grande Valley, the Blue Coats still managed to come out on top with a 114-110 victory. Jaden Springer was named the MVP of the series as the Blue Coats took home the G League title.

With the NBA G League season now in the rearview, the Sixers can take advantage of their prospects that play for the affiliate. Based on Doc Rivers’ cryptic quote following Thursday night’s loss against the Miami Heat, Springer and the two-way prospects Louis King and McClung are likely to pick up some minutes in the Sixers’ final two games before the playoffs.

The 76ers are set to continue their schedule on Friday night with a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.