Lakers News: David Nwaba named to D-League All-Rookie, All-Defensive Teams

When the Los Angeles Lakers called-up David Nwaba from the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the rookie guard who had to earn his spot on the team with a tryout had already exceeded all expectations.

With an NBA contract in hand and a strong stint with the parent team in the books, the proverbial cherry on top of Nwaba’s strong season came with the announcement he’d earned a couple of D-League honors Tuesday, being named to both the All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams for his time in the D-League.

Nwaba’s numbers were absurd. The D-Fenders outscored their opponents by 10.1 points per 100 possessions while Nwaba was on the floor, a team-high and over double the mark of D-League MVP and D-Fenders teammate Vander Blue (4.8).

Those weren’t the only rewards for members of the D-Fenders. In addition to his MVP award, Blue was also named to the D-League’s first team, while point guard Josh Magette was named to the second team.

You can check out the full list of honorees here:

The D-Fenders will re-brand as the South Bay Lakers before next season, although given the high roster turnover in the D-League, it remains to be seen if any of these players will be back with them.

All stats per NBA.com, stats.nbadleague.com and Basketball-Reference.com. Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.