RIO GRANDE VALLEY VIPERS WIN THREE 2021-22 NBA G LEAGUE AWARDS

NEW YORK (April 7, 2022) – The NBA G League today announced that the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, NBA G League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, have earned three annual performance awards for this season.

Houston Rockets Two-Way player Trevelin Queen earned the 2021-22 Kia NBA G League Most Valuable Player award. Vipers Head Coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah is the recipient of the Dennis Johnson Trophy as the 2021-22 NBA G League Coach of the Year. The MVP and Coach of the Year awards were voted on by the league’s 28 head coaches and general managers

Additionally, General Manager Travis Stockbridge has been named the 2021-22 NBA G League Basketball Executive of the Year, which was voted on by the 28 general managers.

During the 2021-22 season, thus far, Queen has appeared in 19 games for the team and has averaged 25.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.3 steals. On Dec.18, 2021 the New Mexico native received an NBA GATORADE Call-Up after signing a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets. Since then, he has appeared in 10 games with the Rockets. Queen is the third Vipers player to win the Kia NBA G League MVP award, joining Mike Harris (2009-10) and Andrew Goudelock (2012-13).

In his third season as head coach, Abdelfattah led the Vipers to the number one spot in the Western Conference with a record of 24-10. Under his direction, the team led the league in points per game (124.5), free throws made (12.4), offensive rebounds (16.5) and total rebounds (51.4). He is the second head coach in Rio Grande Valley history to earn Coach of the Year honors.

Stockbridge becomes the first executive in Vipers’ history to win the Basketball Executive of the Year award. Key player acquisitions by Stockbridge included Marcus Foster (18.7 ppg, 4.3 apg), Mfiondu Kabengele (17.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and 12-year NBA veteran Gerald Green (16.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg).  Since Stockbridge became general manager in 2019, five Rio Grande Valley players have earned GATORADE Call-Ups: Queen, Armoni Brooks, Anthony Lamb, Ray Spalding and Brodric Thomas.