Cleveland Cavaliers forward Georges Niang recalled a memorable technical foul that he received back when he was a member of the Philadephia 76ers organization.
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“When I was in Philly, you know sometimes when you’re frustrated, you don’t look inward — you look outward,” he said. “So, I had a drive to the hoop. I had missed a couple of shots, and it didn’t go in. It was one of those moments like, ‘Aww,’ and (it) didn’t go in. And I was runnin’ by the ref, runnin’ down the court, and I was like, ‘Can I get a f—— call?’ And he didn’t say anything. And I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I was like, ‘I got away with that one.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, just one sec,’ and then gave me a technical. I was like, ‘That was — that was pretty good.'”
Before agreeing to a three-year deal with the Cavaliers in the 2023 offseason, Niang spent two seasons with the 76ers. In his final year with Philly, he played in 78 games during the regular season and averaged 8.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game on 44.2 percent shooting from the floor and 40.1 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Niang helped Philadelphia finish the 2022-23 season with an impressive 54-28 record, which had the team as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. But after sweeping the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs, Niang and the 76ers lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games in the second round.
The 30-year-old is debatably playing the best basketball of his career in his first season with the Cavaliers. He is averaging career-highs in points (9.6) and rebounds (3.5) per game while converting 38.5 percent of his 3-point attempts in the 2023-24 regular season.
In addition, Niang is once again a member of one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. At 45-29, the Cavaliers are the No. 3 seed in the conference and just 1.5 games back of the Milwaukee Bucks — who have lost their last two games — for the No. 2 seed.
He is fresh off one of his best offensive showings of the season against his former team in the 76ers on March 29. Niang ended up with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor and 5-of-8 shooting from deep while also contributing one block in a game the Cavaliers won by a score of 117-114.
Evan Mobley totaled the second-most points of any player on the Cavaliers with 20 to go along with 11 rebounds.
Niang has proven to be a valuable role player so far during his stint with the Cavaliers, and hopefully, he will remain a member of the squad for the foreseeable future. After all, he is under contract through the 2025-26 campaign.
