Abdel Nader of the Maine Red Claws was named NBA D-League Rookie of the Year on Friday.
A second-round draft pick of the Celtics last June, Nader signed instead with the Red Claws and averaged 21.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 40 games during the regular season to help Maine win a third consecutive Atlantic Division title.
Born in Egypt, Nader grew up in Chicago and played for Iowa State. He is the third member of the Red Claws to win Rookie of the Year honors, following Tim Frazier (2015) and DeShawn Sims (2012). Frazier is now with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans and Sims is playing in Italy.
The Red Claws open their best-of-three Eastern Conference championship series with top-seeded Raptors 905 on Sunday afternoon at the Portland Expo.
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