National Basketball Development League
Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 NBA Development League season
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NBA Development League logo
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| Sport | Basketball |
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| Founded | 2001 |
| Inaugural season | 2001–02 |
| President | Malcolm Turner |
| No. of teams | 22 (25 in 2017–18) |
| Country | United States, Canada |
| Continent | FIBA Americas |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Raptors 905 (1st title) |
| Most titles | Three teams (2 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN/NBA TV/NBA TV Canada/Facebook Live |
| Official website | D-League.NBA.com |
The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until the summer of 2005 as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001. In March 2005, 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. 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. Beginning in the 2016–17 season, the league consists of 22 teams; all of whom are either single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team.
In the 2017–18 season, the league will rebrand to become the NBA Gatorade League (NBA G-League) as part of multiyear partnership with Gatorade and its parent company, PepsiCo.
The league began its play as the 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, some of these teams were purchased by private owners and relocated—at the same time the league's name was changed—in a bid to appeal to more fans nationwide. As a result, franchises were established in or moved to Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Florida and Oklahoma. 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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