NBA Call-Up Rewind: Skyforce Celebrates Most NBA Call-Ups Since 1998-99

In 2021-22, the Sioux Falls Skyforce celebrated seven NBA Call-Ups. This was the third highest total of NBA Call-Ups in franchise history and most since 1998-99, where 10 players earned NBA Call-Ups. 1996-97 saw nine NBA Call-Ups, as well.

This past season also marked the first time since 2007-08 where two-or-more players earned multiple NBA Call-Ups (Head Coach Kasib Powell and Bobby Jones were the last two players to earn such honors).

The Skyforce also added two-time NBA Champion Mario Chalmers fresh off an NBA Call-Up with the Miami HEAT from the Grand Rapids Gold in January.

In this feature, we will discuss each player and how they were able to fulfill childhood dreams and either make it to the NBA for the first time, or return to the league after a brief hiatus. 

BRANDON KNIGHT 

DALLAS MAVERICKS (TWICE)

The nine-year NBA veteran is one of two players to earn multiple NBA Call-Ups this season. The former lottery pick is a prime example a veteran using the G League as an outlet to return back to the NBA.

Knight scored over 20-plus points in five of his last six games of the 2021 Showcase Cup. His 25-point, five-assist and four-rebound performance on December 22 against Stockton, with NBA executives watching at the Winter Showcase, essentially sealed his NBA fate.

He inked a 10-day hardship contract with Dallas on December 23 and hit the ground running. He scored in double figures in two of his three appearances, with 18 points on 6-12 FGA, five assists and three rebounds being the highlight of his first stint. Despite it being his first times in a Mavericks jersey, it was a familiar spot for him, as he was coached by Jason Kidd in Milwaukee in 2013-14.

Knight returned to the Force for the regular season after his 10-day contract, where he played in four games before suffering an injury. He scored 27 points and 20 points with a combined 10 assists in his last two games before injury and was well on his way back on the NBA radar.

His determination would be tested, as he did return to the Force in mid-March, where he scored in double figures off the bench in four of six games. He shot over 50 percent from the field in two of his first three games back, as well.

On March 29, Knight returned to the Mavericks on another 10-day hardship contract. He appeared in two games for Dallas, where he played in a total of 10:01 minutes.

“The emotions were high to have gone through this journey,” Knight told HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. “I don’t care how it happened. The fact that I was able to put on an NBA jersey was more humbling than anything. Some tears came out of my eyes.”

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JAVONTE SMART

MILWAUKEE BUCKS, MIAMI HEAT

The rookie out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the second player to earn multiple NBA Call-Ups this season. Smart showed that when he is clicking on all cylinders, that he is one of the best scoring guards in the G League.

Smart stuffed the stat sheet in the Showcase Cup for the Skyforce ahead of his first stint as a two-way player. In his last two games with Sioux Falls, he tallied a combined 61 points on 22-37 FGA (13-25 3PA), eight rebounds and eight assists.

On November 29, he signed a two-way deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he eventually appeared in 13 games (one start) and averaged 2.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per 12.3 minutes a game.

Smart returned to the Skyforce on January 16, where he was able to get his footing under him and get back to what got him to the NBA in the first place.

In the month of February Smart ripped off seven-straight games of 20-plus points scored and had games of 36, 34 and 40 points scored during that stretch. His play earned him a two-way contract with the HEAT on February 15.

He appeared in four games for Miami, with a career-high 20 points on 8-14 FGA, five rebounds and an assist in the HEAT's regular season finale on April 10 against the Orlando Magic.

“I am so grateful,” Smart said when he signed his two-way deal with the HEAT. “I can’t even explain it. I am not taking this opportunity lightly. I am going to do everything I have in me to get better. And to have it be with Miami just makes everything even sweeter."

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MICAH POTTER 

DETROIT PISTONS

The newly-named NBA G League All-Rookie Team member posted 15 double doubles this season and was a steady scorer around the basket and beyond the arc, shooting over 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from three-point range.

A Dec. 7 road tilt with the Motor City Cruise, G League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons, gave the NBA club an opportunity to see Potter first hand. He posted 25 points on 10-19 FGA (2-4 3PA) and 15 rebounds in the contest. The previous game, on Dec. 4 against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Potter had 20 points on 8-16 FGA (2-3 3PA) and 20 rebounds.

On December 29 Potter received the second Skyforce 10-day hardship contract in under a week of each other, as he signed with Detroit.

Potter, who appeared in three games for the Pistons,  flirted with a double-double in his final game on January 5, where he scored eight points on 3-6 FGA and grabbed six rebounds in just 15:44 minutes of work.

“It was such a big deal to bring my wife with me,” Potter said after returning to Sioux Falls from his 10-day contract. “My first two games were in Detroit, which is three hours from my hometown (Mentor, Ohio). My next game was in Milwaukee, where my wife grew up. So, my family got to go to the first two games, and her family got to go to that game in Milwaukee. My final game was in Charlotte, and I have a bunch of close extended family about an hour away. I think it was a God thing, where all the locations of each game were by some family so they could come watch me play. That was a really big deal for me.”

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DJ STEWART

SAN ANTONIO SPURS

Stewart arguably showed some of the most growth from the beginning of training camp to the end of the season from any player in the G League. His steady mindset and growth paid off in the long run, as well.

For what felt like months, Stewart was on the cusp of an NBA Call-Up, as helped steamroll a 9-2 February record for Sioux Falls in the regular season. He and Smart became a one-two punch teams did not want to reckon with.

Stewart averaged a smooth 21.7 points on 47.6 percent shooting, 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per 39.4 minutes in the month of February, which was a season-high per month.

In his final five games with the Skyforce, Stewart averaged 26.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists, shooting over 50 percent from the field in four of those games. He scored over 30 points in three of those five games.

On March 4, he got the call he had been waiting for all season, as he'd been offered a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs. He appeared in 14 games for Austin, where he averaged 14.4 points on 44.9 percent shooting, 3.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per 29.4 minutes a game.

“I have to stay ready for my chance,” Stewart said in January following a very successful Winter Showcase. “I never know when I will get that call up. I have to just stay humble, aggressive, be myself, and be a leader. If I do that, I will be on an NBA roster. I just need to stay patient with my process.”

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MYCHAL MULDER

MIAMI HEAT

The final player to earn an NBA Call-Up is no stranger to accomplishing such a feat in Sioux Falls. Mulder did so in 2019-20 with the Skyforce, where he ended up spending parts of two seasons with the Golden State Warriors.

At the beginning of this season, Mulder appeared as a two-way player with the Orlando Magic. After his time with Orlando came to an end, he rejoined the Skyforce with a mindset to help win basketball games and get back to the NBA.

In mid-March, Mulder got hot. He scored 35-plus points in two of three games and became the first Skyforce player since Duncan Robinson to have 10-plus 3PM in a game, when he went 11-17 3PA against Rio Grande Valley on March 17. Not too bad of company to be in.

Just a week later, the HEAT signed him to a two-way contract. He appeared in two games for Miami to end the regular season, with a start against Orlando on April 10 where he scored 11 points on 3-7 3PA, with two rebounds and two assists in 42:09 minutes of work.

“Just being able to bet on myself and have it pay off means a lot," Mulder said after earning his two-way contract with the HEAT in late March. "For it to happen in Sioux Falls again is very special. There was no other place I'd rather be to make a return to the NBA. A lot of credit goes to my coaches and teammates. Individual accolades don't happen without team success."

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