The clear, bright, white lights on the side of the court near the scorer’s table scream “Tradition.”
The RGV Vipers, the most successful franchise in NBA G League history, added more to their already-storied franchise this week. It’s reserved only for teams that have left a great mark on their sport. It’s for teams like the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees, Boston Celtics … and the RGV Vipers.
The Vipers captured their fourth G League championship Thursday night, completing a dominant two-game sweep of the Delaware Blue Coats in Wilmington, Del. The team trailed early, exploded offensively as is their trademark and claimed a 131-114 win for their fourth title.
Now, instead of having to play a deciding Game 3 on Sunday at Bert Ogden Arena, Vipers officials will be preparing for a championship celebration Saturday with details to be announced.
Mfiondu Kabengele scored a game-high 29 points, ripped down 10 rebounds and blocked six shots, two nights after blocking a league championship series eight blocks, to pace the high-flying Vipers. League MVP Trevelin Queen added 24 points and nine rebounds and Daishen Nix, on assignment to the Vipers for the playoffs, had 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Tradition doesn’t follow any specific timeline. There is no hard and fast set of rules that say “tradition begins now after the following accomplishments and guidelines.” It’s only created by long days, and nights of arduous work, much success and being meticulous with every decision that’s made.
That’s how the Vipers were created — not this year, but every year. Their run-and-gun, shoot-at-will and keep-the-foot-on-the-gas style is unique. Seeing them take 100 shots per game is the norm.
That’s just part of what makes them a team of tradition.
They have captured titles in 2010, 2013, 2019 and now in 2022. No other team has more than two titles. No other team has more than four championship series appearances. The Vipers just completed their sixth appearance in the winner-take-all round.
Their next championship ring — whenever that comes — will be “one for the thumb.”
Leading the team for the past three years has been head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah, an assistant coach who took over after previous head coach Joseph Blair led the team to the 2019 crown and moved on to the NBA.
After a first year that was cut short due to COVID-19 and a second year played in a “bubble” in Orlando, Abdelfattah was finally able to gain the respect and recognition during a “normal” season, being named the NBA G League Coach of the Year prior to the start of the playoffs.
“Mahmoud has grown a lot since that first year,” said Vipers General Manager Travis Stockbridge, who was named the G League’s Executive of the Year. “When we were looking at who would be a good fit for this team, we were on the same page. All the players have bought in to our system and the way they do things. That’s because of Mahmoud.”
Abdelfattah, in return, says the success lies on the shoulders of a team that not only has the same goals in mind, but also holds one another accountable.
“They know that every possession matters. They know how to act on and off the court and they will and have held each other accountable,” Abdelfattah said. “When you have players like that, you can just focus on coaching and working to make your squad better and they do whatever is asked of them.”
They were asked to bring the Valley a fourth championship. They did that, and added to their growing tradition along the way.
