The introduction of two-way contracts has really changed a lot around the NBA in terms of a team’s ability to develop young talent. The Los Angeles Lakers have been excellent at using these deals to take a chance on talented young players and last season one of those was Alex Fudge.
Coming out of college at the University of Florida, Fudge was known as an excellent athlete and defender who needed some work developing his offensive game. The Lakers would sign Fudge to a two-way contract in the summer and, while he got very few minutes with the main team, he did spend a lot of time in the G League with the South Bay Lakers.
While in South Bay, Fudge was able to show off some of that potential as he averaged 7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 18 games. He also was solid in the G League Showcase, averaging 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in six contests.
Fudge did make a handful of appearances with the Lakers as well, appearing in four games throughout the season. However, the Lakers would eventually decide to waive Fudge on Jan. 6 and he would sign with the South Bay Lakers and continue to play there until being picked up by the Dallas Mavericks, who signed him to a two-way contract.
2023-24 Highlight
There obviously isn’t much to choose from regarding Fudge as he had limited time with the Lakers main roster. However on November 27, he did score his first ever NBA points in his second career game in a Lakers loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Fudge was also on the roster as the Lakers won the first ever In-Season Tournament Championship so the young forward will always be a part of history.
Though it didn’t come with the Lakers, Fudge did have his best career game in the Dallas Mavericks’ regular season finale against the Oklahoma City Thunder, making 5-of-9 shots and finishing with 11 points and three steals.
2024-25 Outlook
Alex Fudge was recently released from his two-way contract with the Mavericks so is currently a free agent. If he can catch on somewhere, will likely spend the majority of his season in the G League or overseas continuing to work and develop his game. At just 21 years old, there is still plenty of room for him to grow.
His athleticism and defensive intensity remains very promising and if he is able to harness that while developing his offensive game to a decent level, Fudge could eventually carve out a role for himself on someone’s roster down the line.
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