G League Showcase returns to Las Vegas on Thursday

The NBA is back in Las Vegas this weekend.

Sort of.

The G League Showcase returns for the second straight year, with games at the Mandalay Bay Events Center from Thursday through Sunday. All 28 teams are participating again, and more than 200 players will compete for NBA executives, who can sign them to 10-day contracts beginning Jan. 5.

The event is not open to the public, but games will be televised on ESPN’s family of networks, NBATV or through the G League’s website. Here are five things to know about this year’s showcase.

For the money

The showcase tweaked its format this year, and the top four teams are playing in a championship bracket. The other 24 teams are divided into four six-team brackets.

The Memphis Hustle (11-1), Wisconsin Herd (11-1), Salt Lake City Stars (10-2) and Grand Rapids Drive (8-4) comprise the championship bracket. The winning team will receive $100,000 to split among its players.

Top players

Former Louisiana State guard Josh Gray plays for the Erie Bayhawks and leads the G League with 28.2 points per game. Final Four hero Kyle Guy, formerly of Virginia, is among the league leaders in scoring at 23.8 points per game.

Josh Jackson, selected No. 4 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, is averaging 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Hustle. Former first-round pick Henry Ellenson of the Long Island Nets averages 20.3 points and 10.4 rebounds.

Proving grounds

A record 42 percent of players who started the season on NBA rosters had G League experience, according to the G League. And, as of Tuesday, 55 percent of players on NBA rosters had played in the G League.

Standouts include Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum and Houston Rockets center Clint Capela. Recent G Leaguers include Miami Heat starters Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson, who played last year in the showcase.

More than 60 players have been called up during or shortly after the last 15 showcases.

Coming home

Former UNLV standouts Ike Nwamu and Brandon McCoy are cutting their teeth in the G League, along with former Spring Valley High School standout Gary Payton II and former Findlay Prep star Bol Bol.

Nwamu is averaging 12.1 points and 4.8 rebounds for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. McCoy is averaging 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Wisconsin Herd.

Payton is averaging 21.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists and shooting 57.1 percent from the field for the South Bay Lakers. Bol is averaging 12.2 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Windy City Bulls.

New rules

The NBA is testing an experimental rule in the G League this season. One free throw supplants any two- or three-shot foul, and a singular make equates to two or three points. The rule does not apply in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime.

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.