76ers' G-League Stars Amongst Top Vote Recipients for Next Up Game

While a lot of the focus around the NBA's All-Star weekend will rightfully be centered around the biggest names in the NBA, the G-League gets an event of its own, the Next Up game.

In the first return of votes, two members of the Delaware Blue Coats, the G-League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers, have been featured; Darius Bazley and Kenneth Lofton Jr.

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

Lofton Jr, who joined the Blue Coats ahead of the start of the regular season, has made an immediate impact on the team, averaging 25 points per game, which is the joint seventh-highest throughout the G-League.

Apart from his scoring acumen, Lofton Jr has proven to be quite the interior threat, managing to record an average of nine rebounds per game.

The 21-year-old featured in the 2022-23 Next Up match, as a part of Scoot Henderson's team.

Bazley, on the other hand, has been quite the regular for Mike Longabardi's team since joining in early December, appearing in 11 matches so far.

The former Oklahoma City Thunder star's two-way playstyle has become a cornerstone of Delaware's system, averaging 20 points on an efficient 47 percent from the field, as well as two blocks and ten rebounds per game.

Elsewhere on the list sits former 76er and Blue Coats' star Mac McClung, who has been on a tear with the Osceola Magic this season, averaging 25 points per game on 50 percent from the field.

The Next Up match will take place on Sunday, February 18 at 1:30 p.m. EST in the lead up to the 73rd NBA All-Star Game set to take place at the Indiana Pacers' Gainbridge Fieldhouse.