Vander Blue named NBA D-League MVP

Former Marquette basketball star Vander Blue, who currently plays for the Los Angeles D-Fenders, was named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Development League.

The honor was bestowed upon him based on a vote by the league's 22 head coaches following a season in which the 6-foot-4 guard averaged 24.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 47 games while helping the D-Fenders to a 34-16 record, which tied for the best in the Western Conference.

Blue took a circuitous route to becoming a star in the D-League. That path started in 2013 when he led Marquette to the Elite Eight as a junior then decided to forgo his senior season and enter the NBA draft. Blue's standout performance in the NCAA Tournament didn't pay dividends on draft night as he was not selected and began an odyssey that included playing with 13 different teams in four leagues by the end of the 2016 season.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Former MU star still hoping to catch someone's eye in NBA

Blue has played with four D-League teams over the past four seasons, finding a home with the D-Fenders for the past three. With Los Angeles, he's become a three-time all-star and cracked the top 10 on the D-League's all-time scoring list. He's also become the franchise leader in points (3,570), total rebounds (746), defensive rebounds (601), field goals made (1,189), free throws made (944), games played (144) and minutes (5,301).

All of Blue's success in the D-League has not translated to call-ups to the NBA — the goal of every D-League player. Blue appeared in three games for the Boston Celtics while on a 10-day contract during the 2013-'14 season, then logged 74 minutes over two games for the Los Angeles Lakers at the end of the 2014-'15 season. Over the past two seasons, though, the 24-year-old has not received a call-up to the NBA.