Three former national champions with DMV Ballers combine to score 86 points in Gaithersburg

Shelby Jupiter

Eric Nixon, Shelby Jupiter and Micheal Smith all played a significant role for the DMV Ballers in their 5-0 run to the NYC National Tournament championship in 2018.

All three of those players have been a mainstay in the Gaithersburg Draft League, each playing in almost every season since the Summer of 2018, and none of them have won another championship since lifting the trophy in Manhattan two summers ago.

That could change this season, as the three are playing together for the Miami Heat in Gaithersburg, and they improved to 3-0 after a dominant 97-73 win over the Los Angeles Lakers last night.

Nixon, Jupiter and Smith did everything for the Heat in last night’s win, as they combined to score 86 points, accounting for 89% of their team’s scoring. Nixon led all scorers with 40, Jupiter had 28 and Smith added 18. They each shot 50% or better from the field, and the three combined to shoot 32-57 (56%) from the field, 9-19 (47%) from deep and 13-15 (87%) from the free-throw line. They did more than just score, as they combined for 32 rebounds and 19 assists as well.

Given that Gaithersburg is a draft league, it means these three have played with many different teams and different teammates over the past few seasons. They’ve each spent time as teammates, but this is the first time they’ve all played on the same team in Gaithersburg, and the results speak for themselves. They have led the Heat to a 3-0 record, winning those three games by an average of 13 points. There’s still more than half of the season left to decide a champion, but they have to be considered the early favorites thus far.