Jahlil Okafor & Keisei Tominaga named to G League Up Next Game

The REPORTER

The NBA G League announced Wednesday the player pool for the 2025 G League Up Next Game presented by AT&T. Indiana Mad Ants center Jahlil Okafor and guard Keisei Tominaga were added to the player pool via the fan vote. In the final voting returns, Okafor received the third most votes while Tominaga received the 10th most votes.

Okafor, 29, is currently in his second G League season and first with the Mad Ants. Okafor previously played for Mexico City during the 2022-23 season. The Illinois native was the No. 3 overall pick in 2015 after winning the NCAA title with Duke the previous year. He spent seven years in the NBA with Philadelphia, Brooklyn, New Orleans and Detroit.

In this year’s Tip-Off Tournament, Okafor averaged 18.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game across 15 games played. In 12 regular season games, he is averaging 16.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

He is shooting 65.3 percent from the field when factoring in all 27 games he’s played this season. Okafor leads all Mad Ants players with nine double-doubles.

Tominaga, 23, is in his first year in the G League. He gained notoriety while at the University of Nebraska after earning the nickname “Japanese Steph Curry” and signing an endorsement deal with Under Armour.

The first-year pro appeared in 11 games during the Tip-Off Tournament. He played a season-high 17 minutes on Dec. 15 against Windy City. Tominaga has appeared in three games during the regular season.

The NBA G League Up Next Game presented by AT&T will be held as part of NBA All-Star 2025 in San Francisco, California. The event will take place on Sunday, Feb. 16 at NBA Crossover in the Moscone Center.

The game will feature a tournament-style format with four teams of seven players. The 28 players will be drafted by four influencer GMs with some help from NBA G League coaches.

The NBA G League Up Next Game can be seen on Tubi and the G League App beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Last season, Kyle Mangas, Oscar Tshiebwe and Isaiah Wong all represented the Mad Ants at the Up Next Game. Trevelin Queen and Gabe York represented the Mad Ants at the Next Up Game during the 2022-23 season.

Okafor, Tominaga and the Mad Ants will host the Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee Bucks affiliate) on Monday at 6 p.m. The club will host the Raptors 905 (Toronto Raptors affiliate) the following night at 6 p.m.