Eli Kell-Abrams Named Head Coach of Charge

CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League have announced that Eli Kell-Abrams has been named the eighth Head Coach in franchise history.

“We are very excited to have Eli join our Charge family and the long list of talented, hard-working coaches we have had here,” said Charge General Manager Liron Fanan.  “Eli has an infectious personality, great NBA experience and a really sharp basketball mind that will be an excellent combination to lead our team this upcoming season.” 

Kell-Abrams comes to Cleveland after most recently serving as Head Video Coordinator for the Portland Trail Blazers over the last two seasons, where his responsibilities included managing team video needs & staff, on-court player development, offensive/defensive game-planning, opponent scouting, and back of bench support during games.  Before joining Portland, Kell-Abrams also spent time as an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat.

“I am beyond thrilled for this opportunity to join the Cavaliers organization and be the Head Coach of the Cleveland Charge,” said Kell-Abrams.  “It has been a long, gratifying road to get to this point in my career, and I cannot wait to get our staff and team together to get to work!”

With the NBA Call-Up of Chris Darnell to the Sacramento Kings earlier this summer, all seven previous head coaches departed the Charge to join an NBA team as an assistant: Alex Jensen (2011-13), Steve Hetzel (2013-14), Jordi Fernandez (2014-16), Nate Reinking (2016-21), Dan Geriot (2021-22), Mike Gerrity (2022-24), Chris Darnell (2024-25).  The entire Charge coaching and support staff for the 2025-26 season will be announced at a later date.

Coach Kell-Abrams will be on hand to lead the Charge during their 2025 Local Open Tryout on Saturday, September 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at HoopTech in North Ridgeville.  During the session, prospects will be assessed based on their athletic performance and basketball skills. Up to three players from the tryout will be eligible to earn an invite to Charge training camp in October without having to declare for the 2025 NBA G League Draft.  Registration and eligibility information can be found at ClevelandCharge.com or by clicking HERE.