Tag: G League signing

RALEIGH

N.C. State basketball fans will have an opportunity to see one of their favorites back in action nearby after DJ Burns, one of the heroes of the Wolfpack’s 2024 playoff run, signed Saturday with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League.

The Swarm acquired Burns from the G League undrafted player pool. He will be available for the team’s Nov. 7 season opener against the Maine Celtics. Tickets and season details are available on the Swarm website.

College basketball fans expressed excitement on social media, some calling Burns a “king” or “legend.”

Burns spent the 2024-25 season with the Goyang Sono Skygunners in the Korean Basketball League. He played 54 games and averaged 9.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in just under 19 minutes per contest.

He went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft and played four games for the Cleveland Cavaliers that summer in the NBA2K Summer League. He contributed 5.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes per game.

In his Summer League finale last year, Burns finished with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting, two rebounds, one assist and one block in 12 minutes off the bench.

Burns started his college career at Tennessee, where he redshirted. He then spent three seasons at Winthrop before transferring to N.C. State, where he played for two seasons.

The Rock Hill, South Carolina, native gained national attention in 2024 during the Wolfpack’s ACC Championship and Final Four run. He became a media darling for his big personality and his smooth-operator style of play. Burns remains the profile photo of the popular “No context college basketball” X account.

Burns averaged 2.9 points and four rebounds per game during the 2023-24 season, reaching double figures 31 times and recording a pair of double-doubles.

He received high praise from North Carolina coach Hubert Davis in January 2024 for his ability to play in the post and direct the offense.

“I don’t know how you defend DJ Burns. He’s just so gifted. It’s a dilemma every time down the floor,” Davis said. “Do you guard him one on one? Or do you double-team? He’s such a gifted passer. And so you try to mix things up, not give him a steady diet so he knows that he’s going to pass out of the double team or he knows that nobody is coming.”

Burns recorded 20 points, four rebounds, seven assists and hit his first career 3-pointer against Davis’ Carolina team, leading N.C. State to the 2024 ACC title. He earned the ACC Tournament MVP and NCAA Tournament South Region Most Outstanding Player awards during N.C. State’s historic run, which featured five wins in five days at the ACC Championship and all nine of its postseason victories took place in elimination games.

The 2024 South Carolina legislature honored Burns with a resolution to recognize his accomplishments with the Wolfpack.