2011–12 NBA Development League season | |
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League | NBA Development League |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | November 25, 2011 – April 28, 2012 |
Total attendance | 1,055,239 |
TV partner(s) | Versus/NBC Sports Network, NBA TV |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Jamaal Tinsley |
Picked by | Los Angeles D-Fenders |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Los Angeles D-Fenders |
Season MVP | Justin Dentmon (Austin Toros) |
Top scorer | Blake Ahearn (Reno Bighorns) |
Playoffs | |
Finals | |
Champions | Austin Toros |
Runners-up | Los Angeles D-Fenders |
The 2011–12 NBA Development League season is the 11th season of the NBA Development League (NBA D-League). The NBA D-League is the official minor league basketball organization owned and run by the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league was formed in 2001 as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL). The league adopted its current name in 2005 to reflect its close affiliation with the NBA. The 2011–12 season will be competed by 16 teams. The Los Angeles D-Fenders, after spending one season inactive, joined the 15 returning teams from the previous season. The Utah Flash ceased operation at the end of the previous season and would not be playing in the 2011–12 season. The New Mexico Thunderbirds relocated to Canton, Ohio and were renamed as the Canton Charge.
This season, an all-time high nine teams will have single-affiliation partnerships with NBA teams, up from four in the previous season. Five of them, the Austin Toros, the Canton Charge, the Dakota Wizards, the Los Angeles D-Fenders and the Tulsa 66ers, are owned by their NBA affiliates. Four teams, the Erie BayHawks, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Springfield Armor and the Texas Legends, have a hybrid single-affiliation partnership with NBA teams, where their basketball operations are controlled by their NBA affiliates. The other seven teams are affiliated with three NBA teams each.