According to previous reports, Zeng Fanbo has joined the NBA Development League Ignite team.
For the Development League, we all know that it is a subsidiary team of NBA. But some fans may not be familiar with how the Ignite team helps young players before they enter the NBA. Let us take a look today.
1. Development League, D League, G League
In fact, these three names describe the same league.
At the beginning of the 2001-02 season, the NBA league established NBDL (National Basketball Development League). There are eight teams located in the southeastern United States participating.
In 2005, as part of the new labor agreement, the NBDL was renamed the NBA Development League (NBA D-Leauge). At the same time, each G League team is affiliated with one or more NBA teams.
In 2017, Gatorade became the exclusive sponsor of the Development League, and the league was immediately renamed NBA Gatorade League, or NBA G-League for short.
In 2019, the G League began to offer contracts to a portion of young players who were not yet eligible for the NBA draft.
Since 2006, players under the age of 19 have been ineligible for the draft, while high school graduates are only 18 when they graduate. This cuts off the way for young players to copy Garnett and James, and they are forced to join the NCAA as a stop, and then "play for one year and then leave" to participate in the draft and enter the NBA.
The G League's move provides an alternative for young players who don't want or can't go to college, offering these young talents a contract with an annual salary of $125,000. In 2020, the league launched the Ignite team to specifically sign young players waiting to be drafted.
played for the Ignite last season and the rookies selected in this year's draft include No. 2 pick Jaylen Green (Rockets), No. 7 pick Kuminga (Warriors), and No. 31 pick Isaiah Tow. Virtue (wizard).
2. Team list
There are 30 teams in the G League in the 2021-22 season, 26 of which are completely affiliated with NBA teams; the 2nd team remains relatively independent, but is funded and supported by an NBA team. In addition, there are two G League teams that are completely independent and do not belong to any NBA team. One is the Ignite and the other is the Mexico City Captains.
3. Schedule
The G League schedule will be divided into two parts, one is the traditional regular season and playoffs; the other is the exhibition "Winter Exhibition Cup".
The 28 teams affiliated with NBA teams will participate in the regular season and playoffs. They will be divided into the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference like the NBA. After 36 regular season games, 6 seeded teams from the East and West will advance to the playoffs and determine the final championship. This part of the competition will start on December 27, local time, after the Showcase Cup ends.
The Ignite and Mexico City Captains will only participate in 14 games in the "Winter Showcase Cup" held before the regular season. The 30 teams will be divided into 4 divisions, and 14 games will be played in the divisions. The two teams with the highest winning rate in each division will advance. The 8 promoted teams will compete in a single elimination round to compete for trophies and bonuses. This part of the competition will start on November 5th, local time. Before the start of the Showcase Cup, the Ignite team will also participate in two preseason games .
(Bacchus)
