AN EXCELLENT individual effort from guard Dereon Seabron has led the Salt Lake City Stars into the second round of the G League playoffs after defeating the Rio Grande Valley Vipers earlier this week.

The two sides locked horns at Maverik Centre in their first postseason clash of 2025, having both demonstrated comprehensive offensive performances throughout the season.

Although the Stars entered favourites based on the standings, just one win separated the two teams at the conclusion of the regular season, so the game could have gone either way.

Salt Lake City got off to the perfect start, jumping out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter and holding Rio Grande Valley to just 15 points in the process.

Although the Vipers got that deficit down to 11 at the main break, it was again blown out in the third quarter, when the Stars outscored the opposition 42-23 to put the game to bed and cruise home to a 27-point win.

Seabron was one of three players to record a triple-double, but it was his offensive impact that separated him from his peers in an elimination clash earlier this week.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (102) def. by Salt Lake City Stars (129)

Dereon Seabron – 21 points, five rebounds, 15 assists

The most productive player on the court, Seabron ensured the Stars got out to an unassailable lead against the Vipers, and kept his team’s season alive with a masterful performance with ball in hand.

The guard nailed the first score of the game with a clever driving layup to get his side on the board, although he did go through a bit of a dry spell on the offensive end, with the shots not falling as easily shortly after.

However, he got his teammates involved with some excellent passes out of the pick and rolls, with the Stars finding plenty of success scoring the ball inside thanks to Seabron’s precise passing. Whether it was bullet-like dishes or alley-oop lobs, his passes were consistently finding teammates, and picking holes in Rio Grande Valley’s defence in the process.

With nine assists at the half, Seabron was letting his playmaking do the talking, not relying on his own production on the scoring front to have a say in the match. His ability to find wide open teammates was a big part of why the Stars got out to such a significant margin.

In the second half, he was much more aggressive with ball in hand, looking to drive and get to the cup wherever possible and it often resulted in either a score of his own or a fantastic dish out pass to a teammate on the perimeter. Despite their best efforts to stay in front of him, the Vipers simply could not stop the guard from making a play.

He capped off a dominant night with a driving dunk late in the fourth quarter to put his side up by 35 points in an emphatic way to finish a great individual outing. Seabron finished with 21 points on 7/17 shooting from the field to go with his 15 assists, in one of the better performances of his career in the G League.