The NBA season has tipped off, and Alabama is once again scattered across the league in every kind of role imaginable - starters, rotation pieces, rookies trying to carve out minutes, and two-way players fighting to stay on the radar.
Six former Crimson Tide players opened the 2026-27 season on full NBA contracts, while two more are on two-way deals. That means they’ll split time between the NBA and the G League, and they do not count against a team’s 15-man roster limit.
Brandon Miller remains the biggest headliner. Now in his fourth season with the Charlotte Hornets, the former No. 2 overall pick has already locked himself into the franchise’s future after landing a $209 million extension.
Miller has spent his entire career in Charlotte, and he’s coming off a season in which he averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 43.5% from the field and 38.3% from deep. He opens the year as Charlotte’s starting small forward.
Collin Sexton is on the move again, this time to the Los Angeles Lakers. The former lottery pick signed a two-year, $19 million deal with the team this offseason, giving him a new home for his ninth NBA season and his fifth franchise.
Last season, he split time between the Hornets and Bulls and posted 15.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 48.5% overall and 40.1% from three. For the Lakers, he projects as the first guard off the bench behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Herb Jones is back in New Orleans and still brings the kind of defensive value that makes him one of the league’s toughest assignments. Entering his sixth NBA season with the Pelicans, Jones averaged 8.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals last season while shooting 38.3% overall and 30.9% from three.
It was his weakest year offensively, but his reputation on the other end hasn’t changed. He also owns career averages of 9.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals, and he’s expected to battle Saddiq Bey for a starting role or settle into one of the first bench spots.
Keon Ellis also changed teams this offseason, landing in Brooklyn on a two-year, $18 million contract. Ellis split last season between Sacramento and Cleveland, where he averaged 6.7 points on 44% shooting and 36.3% from three.
He had spent his first 3.5 seasons in Sacramento before the trade deadline move to Cleveland. With the Nets, he appears lined up as the backup small forward behind Michael Porter Jr.
In Philadelphia, rookie Labaron Philon Jr. enters the league after being taken No. 22 overall in the 2026 NBA draft. He’s trying to earn a rotation spot on a loaded 76ers roster and is competing with veteran guards Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for bench minutes. Philon did not play in Philly’s first game of the season.
Noah Clowney stays in Brooklyn for a fourth season, and he’s another Alabama product expected to play a meaningful role. Clowney has spent his entire NBA career with the Nets so far and averaged 12.3 points and 4.1 rebounds last season while shooting 39.6% from the field. He looks set to back up Julius Randle at power forward.
Two former Tide players are on two-way contracts. Chris Youngblood is back with the Portland Trail Blazers after splitting time last season on two-ways with the Thunder and Blazers. He averaged 2.1 points per game on 34.9% shooting in 34 NBA games, and in the G League he put up 22.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 17 games while shooting 45.7%.
Grant Nelson is also back in Brooklyn, now on a two-way deal after spending most of last season in the G League with the Nets’ affiliate. He played a couple of NBA games on a 10-day contract and averaged 4.3 points in four NBA appearances. In 17 G League games, he posted 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 55.6% from the field.
In Other News...
Alabama Pass Rush Problem Could Follow The Tide Into Texas A&M
The pass rush has become one of the more uncomfortable storylines around Alabama after the Tide managed just one sack in each of their last two games, both losses. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack has pointed to the same issue showing up again and again, with recent opponents getting the ball out quickly enough to blunt pressure before it can turn into a disruption.
Now the challenge appears to be waiting again with Texas A&M, which could bring a similar approach when it meets Alabama. If the Aggies are able to spread the ball around and keep the quarterback moving through reads fast, the Tide will need to find a way to create heat without relying on a rush that has not consistently gotten home lately. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Faces Growing Pressure To Stop This Slide Fast
Alabama heads into its matchup with Texas A&M carrying an unfamiliar weight after consecutive losses, the programs first back-to-back regular-season defeats since 2007. For a team used to setting the tone in the SEC, the timing could hardly be worse, especially with offensive issues starting up front and showing up in the passing game. The Tide have little margin to let the skid linger.
Texas A&M brings its own questions, but the Aggies have at least shown signs of improvement on defense, which only adds to the challenge Alabama is facing. Both teams need a response to steady their SEC standing, and for Alabama the pressure is about more than one result. It is about whether the slide gets stopped now, before it becomes something harder to shake. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Finally Has A Real Opening For AK Dear
AK Dear has spent most of the 2026 season waiting for his chance, and so far it has been a quiet one. The Alabama running back has only two carries for six yards, a number that reflects how limited his role has been since the season began, even after he arrived with the kind of recruiting buzz that made him one of the more intriguing young players on the roster.
Now the path looks a little more open. With EJ Crowell dealing with a knee injury and Alabama struggling to get much going on the ground, Dear could be in line for a bigger workload when the Crimson Tide face Texas A&M. He flashed promise in his debut season, but his usage has dipped this year, and this matchup may finally give Alabama a better look at what he can do with real touches. [Read more 🡒]