The Fayetteville Patriots were an

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

team based in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

, United States. Its logo design features a

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

's head and a basketball in the middle of a capital letter "P" with stars and stripes filling the rest of it.

Franchise history

In 2001, the Fayetteville Patriots became one of the

National Basketball Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

's eight charter franchises. They played their home games at the

Cumberland County Crown Coliseum The Crown Complex (originally the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum) is a multi-purpose venue in Fayetteville, North Carolina that includes the Crown Coliseum, an indoor stadium. The stadium broke ground in 1995 and opened in 1997, and is currentl ...

in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The league would later re-brand as the NBA Development League (or D-League) in 2005. The Fayetteville Patriots finished last in the D-League in 2005–06 season with a 16–32 record. They got a lift in late February and early March, with the acquisition of

Amir Johnson Amir Jalla Johnson (born May 1, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA G League Ignite of the NBA G League. He has previously played for the Detroit Pistons, the team that selected Johnson in the second rou ...

and

Alex Acker Alexander Maurice Acker (born January 21, 1983) is an American-Italian professional basketball player who last played for Gallarate Basket of the Serie C Gold. He played college basketball for Pepperdine University. Acker was selected by the Detro ...

from the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

. On May 2, 2006, The D-League decided to no longer field a team in Fayetteville. The announcement came a day after the league decided the same fate for the

Roanoke Dazzle The Roanoke Dazzle were an NBA Development League team based in Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.. In operation from the inaugural D-League season of 2001–02 through the 2005–06 season, the Dazzle marked the return of professional basketball to Roanoke ...

franchise, based in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

Season-by-season

Notable players

Chris Andersen Christopher Claus Andersen (born July 7, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Birdman", Andersen was born in Long Beach, California, grew up in Iola, Texas, and played one year at Blinn College. Andersen bega ...

, 1st ever draft pick of the

NBDL The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

, 1st ever call-up to the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

from the NBDL with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

in 2001, 2013

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

champion with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

; former New Orleans Hornet, Memphis Grizzly and Cleveland Cavalier *

Gerald Green Gerald Green (born January 26, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 18th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft. Known ...

, 2007

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

Champion, former Minnesota Timberwolf,

Dallas Maverick The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

, New Jersey Net, Indiana Pacer, Phoenix Sun, Boston Celtic,

, and Houston Rocket *

Mateen Cleaves Mateen Ahmad Cleaves (born September 7, 1977) is a retired American basketball player. He played parts of six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player for Michigan State, where he led the Sparta ...

, 2000 NCAA National Champion & Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, former Detroit Piston, Sacramento King, Cleveland Cavalier, and Seattle SuperSonic *

, former Detroit Piston, Toronto Raptor, and Boston Celtic *

, former Detroit Piston and Los Angeles Clipper *

Terrell McIntyre Lance Terrell McIntyre (born October 18, 1977) is a retired American professional basketball player. Standing at 5'9 " (1.76 m), he played at the point guard position. A two-time All-EuroLeague First Team selection, he reached the EuroLeague Final ...

, former Italian Club "Mens Sana Basket" player *

Matt Barnes Matt Barnes (born March 9, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Barnes was drafted in the second round of the 2002 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. He ...

, former

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

, Los Angeles Clipper, Sacramento King, New York Knick,

Philadelphia 76er The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

, Golden State Warrior, Phoenix Sun,

Los Angeles Laker The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

and Sacramento King; won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2017. *

Devin Brown Devin LaVell Brown (born December 30, 1978) is an American former professional basketball shooting guard who played 8 seasons in the National Basketball Association. Brown won an NBA championship as a member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2005. E ...

, former San Antonio Spur, Denver Nugget,

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, New Orleans Hornet, Cleveland Cavalier and

Chicago Bull The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

; won an NBA championship as a member of the Spurs in 2005

NBA affiliates

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

(2005–2006) *

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

(2005–2006)

References

{{Defunct D-League Basketball teams established in 2001 Basketball teams disestablished in 2006 2001 establishments in North Carolina 2006 disestablishments in North Carolina Basketball teams in North Carolina