What You Need to Know About the NBA G League
What is the NBA G League?
The NBA G League is the NBA’s official minor league, preparing players, coaches, officials, trainers, and front-office staff for the NBA while acting as the league’s research and development laboratory. The league offers elite professional basketball at an affordable price in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere. NBA G League Ignite also plays against G League competition. There will be 31 NBA G League teams in the 2024-25 season, 30 of which are affiliated with an NBA team.
Read below for more information on the NBA G League.
FRANCHISE MAP
The NBA G League features 31 teams - 30 of which are affiliated with an NBA team as of the 2024-25 season. The 30 NBA affiliate teams include: Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs), Birmingham Squadron (New Orleans Pelicans), Capital City Go-Go (Washington Wizards), Cleveland Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers), College Park Skyhawks (Atlanta Hawks), Delaware Blue Coats (Philadelphia 76ers), Grand Rapids Gold (Denver Nuggets), Greensboro Swarm (Charlotte Hornets), Indiana Mad Ants (Indiana Pacers), Iowa Wolves (Minnesota Timberwolves), Long Island Nets (Brooklyn Nets), Maine Celtics (Boston Celtics), Memphis Hustle (Memphis Grizzlies), Motor City Cruise (Detroit Pistons), Oklahoma City Blue (Oklahoma City Thunder), Osceola Magic (Orlando Magic), Raptors 905 (Toronto Raptors), Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets), Rip City Remix (Portland Trail Blazers), Salt Lake City Stars (Utah Jazz), San Diego Clippers (L.A. Clippers), Santa Cruz Warriors (Golden State Warriors), Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami Heat), South Bay Lakers (Los Angeles Lakers), Stockton Kings (Sacramento Kings), Texas Legends (Dallas Mavericks), Valley Suns (Phoenix Suns), Westchester Knicks (New York Knicks), Windy City Bulls (Chicago Bulls) and Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee Bucks).
In 2021-22, the New Orleans Pelicans debuted the Birmingham Squadron in Birmingham, Ala., while the Detroit Pistons debuted the Motor City Cruise in Detroit, Mich. The Denver Nuggets’ hybrid affiliation with the Grand Rapids Drive began with the 2021-22 season, and Mexico City Capitanes made their G League debut in 2021-22. The 2022-23 season saw the Agua Caliente Clippers rename their franchise the Ontario Clippers, while G League Ignite revealed an updated logo as part of a visual rebrand. In 2023-24, the Lakeland Magic will rename their franchise the Osceola Magic, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants will rename their franchise the Indiana Mad Ants, and the Portland Trail Blazers will debut their G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix. In 2024-25, the Ontario Clippers will relocate and rename their franchise the San Diego Clippers and the Phoenix Suns will debut their G League affiliate, the Valley Suns.
Go to NBAGLeague.com/Expansion for more
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who are the best players ever to play in the NBA G League? What is the relationship between NBA teams and their NBA G League affiliates? How can I watch games?
Answers to these questions and much more on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
NBA G LEAGUE IGNITE
NBA G League Ignite was a first-of-its-kind team dedicated to developing top young prospects in preparation for the NBA Draft. Based at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev., the roster includes elite players who are eligible for the NBA Draft and players in the early stages of their professional basketball careers as well as NBA and NBA G League veterans who serve as mentors to the team’s young talent. In addition to accelerated on-court development and competing toward an NBA G League Championship, the team focuses on life skills training that includes financial literacy education, community service involvement, and scholarship opportunities.
NBA G League Ignite concluded as a program following the 2023-24 season amid the changing basketball landscape, including the NCAA’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policy and the advent of collectives and the transfer portal. In the team's four years, Ignite saw 13 different players drafted into the NBA - more than any other program in that time frame. They include: Jalen Green (2nd pick, 2021, Houston Rockets), Jonathan Kuminga (7th pick, 2021, Golden State Warriors), Isaiah Todd (31st pick, 2021, Milwaukee Bucks), Dyson Daniels (8th pick, 2022, New Orleans Pelicans), MarJon Beauchamp (24th pick, 2022, Milwaukee Bucks), Jaden Hardy (37th pick, 2022, Sacramento Kings), Scoot Henderson (3rd pick, 2023, Portland Trail Blazers), Leonard Miller (33rd pick, 2023, San Antonio Spurs), Sidy Cissoko (44th pick, 2023, San Antonio Spurs), Mojave King (47th pick, 2023, Los Angeles Lakers), Ron Holland (5th pick, 2024, Detroit Pistons), Matas Buzelis (11th pick, 2024, Chicago Bulls), and Tyler Smith (33rd pick, 2024, Milwaukee Bucks).
>> Learn More
GATORADE PARTNERSHIP
Beginning with the 2017-18 season, the NBA Development League (NBA D-League) was renamed the NBA G League as part of a multiyear expanded partnership between the NBA and Gatorade. This marks the first time a U.S. professional sports league was named an entitlement partner.
>> Learn More About the Gatorade Partnership
ALUMNI IN THE NBA
A record 50 percent of players on NBA start-of-season rosters for 2023-24 had NBA G League experience, up from 47 percent on rosters the previous season. With big names such as Pascal Siakam, Rudy Gobert, and Jordan Poole leading the way, every NBA team has at least one NBA G League alumni playing with them this past season. By the end of the 2022-23 NBA season, 55 percent of players on rosters had G League experience, the second-highest percentage of all-time.
TWO-WAY CONTRACTS
Beginning in the 2017 offseason, NBA rosters expanded from 15 to 17 players with the addition of two spots for players under “Two-Way Contracts.” For the 2023-24 season, each NBA team is permitted to have up to three players under Two-Way Contracts on its roster at any time (in addition to the maximum 15 players under Standard NBA Contracts).
NBA teams may have up to three players under NBA Two-Way Contracts who may be active for up to 50 games with their NBA team. Players signed to Two-Way Contracts are paid one salary for their time in both leagues. Only players with three or fewer years of NBA service are able to sign Two-Way Contracts, which can be for either one or two seasons.
The following rules will apply to Two-Way Contracts for the 2023-24 Season:
Each NBA team is permitted to have up to three players under Two-Way Contracts on its roster at any time (in addition to the maximum 15 players under Standard NBA Contracts). The term of a Two-Way Contract can be either one or two seasons, as negotiated between the player and the team. Two-Way Contracts may not be signed after March 4 of any season. The annual salary for a Two-Way Contract is equal to 50% of the NBA minimum salary applicable a player with zero NBA Years of Service (i.e., $559,782 for 2023-24). If a Two-Way Contract is signed during the NBA Regular Season, that amount is prorated based on the number of days remaining in the NBA Regular Season. No player may sign (or have his Standard NBA Contract converted to) a Two-Way Contract if he has or may have more than four NBA Years of Service at any point during the Two-Way Contract (provided that a player with four NBA Years of Service may sign a one-year Two-Way Contract if during one of his NBA Seasons, he was on a team’s roster for the entire NBA Regular Season, but did not play in any NBA games).
Two-Way Players will not accrue “Days of Service” for either the NBA or the G League team in respect of the 2022-23 Season (and, thus, there is no 45-Day Two-Way Service Limit). Instead, the following rules will apply:
Two-Way Players are eligible to travel and practice with their NBA teams during the NBA play-in tournament and playoffs, but may not be on an NBA team’s playoff roster. A Two-Way Player who is signed (or has his Two-Way Contract converted) to a Standard NBA Contract prior to the start of his team’s last Regular Season game may be included on the team’s postseason roster and play in postseason games.
KEY DATES
Click the link below for key dates for the 2023-24 NBA G League season.
>> Key Dates
NBA G LEAGUE WINTER SHOWCASE
Showcase is the NBA G League’s annual in-season scouting event, when all of the league’s teams converge in one city to play in front of NBA general managers and player personnel executives from all 30 NBA teams. The 2023 event — Dec. 19-22 in Orland, Florida in Las Vegas, Nevada — marked the 19th Showcase. It was the first Showcase in Orlando after the G League announced a sponsorship deal with Hyatt. Previous iterations of the Winter Showcase had taken place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Due to the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season, there was no Showcase in 2020. The Westchester Knicks won the 2023 Showcase Cup Championship as the No. 2 seed, defeating the No. 1 Indiana Mad Ants in the Showcase Cup Final.
Prospects who have turned heads in Showcases past include Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (Rio Grande Valley Vipers), Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (Bakersfield Jam), New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado (Birmingham Squadron), Houston Rockets guard/forward Gerald Green and Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin (Reno Bighorns).
The 2023 event will relocate to Orlando, Florida after the G League announced a sponsorship deal with Hyatt.
HOW ROSTERS ARE BUILT
Players take a variety of paths to the NBA G League as they push toward the NBA.
Learn about the nine different paths a player can take to an NBA G League roster, which includes Two-Way Players, Returning Players, Affiliate Players, Local Tryout Players, NBA G League Draft Picks, NBA Draft Rights Players, NBA Assignees, NBA Draft-Eligible Players and Free Agents.
>> How NBA G League Rosters Are Built
MORE 101: How Call-Ups Work | Affiliate Players | Draft and Stash | Path to the NBA Draft | Coaching Call-Ups