National Basketball Association Developmental League
Current season, competition or edition: 2017–18 NBA G League season
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| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
| Inaugural season | 2001–02 |
| President | Malcolm Turner |
| No. of teams | 26 (27 in 2018–19) |
| Country | United States Canada |
| Continent | FIBA Americas (Americas) |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Austin Spurs (2nd title) |
| Most titles | Austin Spurs Rio Grande Valley Vipers Santa Cruz Warriors Oklahoma City Blue (2 titles each) |
| TV partner(s) | |
| Official website | GLeague.NBA.com |
The NBA G League is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Development League (NBA D-League) from 2005 until 2017. The league started with eight teams until NBA commissioner David Stern announced a plan to expand the NBA D-League to fifteen teams and develop it into a true minor league farm system, with each NBA D-League team affiliated with one or more NBA teams in March 2005. At the conclusion of the 2013–14 NBA season, 33% of NBA players had spent time in the NBA D-League, up from 23% in 2011. As of the 2017–18 season, the league consists of 26 teams, all of which are either single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team.
In the 2017–18 season, Gatorade became the title sponsor of the D-League, and it was renamed the NBA G League.
The league began its play as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) in the 2001–02 season; the original eight franchises were all located in the southeastern United States (specifically in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia).
In 2005, the league's name was changed to NBA Development League (NBA D-League) as part of the new collective bargaining agreement with the NBA and a bid to appeal to more fans by showing their connection to the major league. In the same offseason, Southwest Basketball, LLC lead by David Kahn was granted permission by the league to operate four new teams. Southwest Basketball then purchased three existing franchises and one expansion team: the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, Austin Toros, Fort Worth Flyers and the Tulsa 66ers. The Arkansas RimRockers were also added from the ABA for the 2005–06 season. In February 2006, the D-League expanded to California for the first time with the addition of the Bakersfield Jam. Two months later, the league announced that four teams from the Continental Basketball Association were joining the league: the Dakota Wizards, Sioux Falls Skyforce, Idaho Stampede, and a team originally slated for CBA expansion, the Colorado 14ers. Shortly after, the league announced expansion teams in the Anaheim Arsenal and the Los Angeles D-Fenders. The D-Fenders became the first D-League team to be directly owned by an NBA parent team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
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