Alabama basketball former Chris Youngblood received his first starting nod at the next level Thursday.
The Tuscaloosa native made his NBA Summer League debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder against Elite Eight teammate Grant Nelson and the Brooklyn Nets .
Youngblood went unselected in the first two rounds of this year's NBA draft, but the sharp-shooting guard signed a UDFA deal with the league's reigning champions on June 27.
With the Crimson Tide, Youngblood made about 45% of shots from the floor and nearly 39% from 3-point range to average 10.3 points per game.
Following up Ajay Mitchell , Youngblood was the second member of the Thunder to put up points against Brooklyn, going 2 for 3 from the free-throw line after BYU former Egor Demin was charged with a flagrant 1. Youngblood's makes gave OKC a 5-2 lead with 7:40 left in the first period.
Youngblood and Demin last faced each other as Alabama made history raining 3s in the Sweet 16 to advance in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Demin scored 15 points and contributed seven assists in the loss as Youngblood banked in five 3s for 19 points in the Crimson Tide's 113-88 victory.
His tear was just getting started.
Youngblood finished second in scoring with 19 points, leading his squad to a 90-81 win with three treys while adding five rebounds and a couple assists in 26 minutes.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball former Chris Youngblood gets starting nod in NBA Summer League
