The NBA G League Ignite is a developmental

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team in the

NBA G 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 ...

. Based in

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...

, the team was designed to play

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

s outside the G League's traditional scheduling as part of a one-year development program for elite

National Basketball Association 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 S ...

(NBA) prospects. Its roster is made up of both prospects and veteran players. Ignite was created on April 16, 2020, and is touted as an alternative to

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

, offering prospects salaries of up to $500,000.

History

The

has been an avenue for high school, college and international prospects to be drafted into the NBA since 2008. On October 18, 2018, the G League introduced Select Contracts of $125,000 for elite prospects, including opportunities for basketball development, life skills, mentorship, and academic scholarships starting from the 2019–20 season. However, no players in the 2019 high school class signed a Select Contract. On April 16, 2020, the G League announced a raised salary for elite prospects and a one-year development program outside of its traditional team structure. The prospects would play alongside veteran players on a select team that would take part in training and 10 to 12

s against other G League teams, foreign national teams, and NBA academies. Players earn financial incentives for playing games, participating in community events, and attending life skills programs coordinated by the G League. They also receive a full scholarship to

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, which has partnered with the NBA. On the same day that the G League's new development program was announced,

Jalen Green Jalen Romande Green (born February 9, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the third player in the NBA of Filipino descent, following Jordan Clarkson and ...

, the highest ranked player in the 2020 high school class according to

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, became the first player to join the NBA G League Ignite, earning $500,000. The G League subsequently drew attention as an alternative to

, with some media outlets speculating that Green's decision would threaten the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. Green was soon joined on the team by fellow five-star recruits

Isaiah Todd Isaiah Todd (born October 17, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the best power forwards in the 2020 class. A ...

and

Daishen Nix Daishen Nix (born February 13, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at and , he plays the point guard position. He was a consensus five-star recruit and ...

, both former college commits, as well as

Kai Sotto Kai Zachary Perlado Sotto (, ; born May 11, 2002) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). Listed at and , he plays the center position. He also played for the Aten ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. On June 9, 2020, former NBA player and coach

Brian Shaw Brian Keith Shaw (born March 22, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play both guard positions, but wa ...

was named head coach of the Ignite. On July 16,

Jonathan Kuminga Jonathan Malangu Kuminga (born October 6, 2002) is a Congolese professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus five-star recruit and the top small forward in the 2021 class ...

, the highest ranked player in the 2021 high school class, reclassified to the 2020 class and signed with the Ignite. The name of the team, previously referred to as the G League Select Team, was announced as the NBA G League Ignite on September 2. On November 12, the Ignite signed veteran players

Brandon Ashley Brandon Damon Allen Ashley (born July 15, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Altiri Chiba of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the University of Arizona. High school career Ashley attended Bishop O ...

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

, Cody Demps,

Reggie Hearn Reggie Christian Hearn (born August 14, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League. He played college basketball at Northwestern University. High school Hearn was an undersized p ...

, and

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 ...

to play alongside and mentor the team's prospects. On January 14, 2021, the Ignite signed Donta Hall and

Jarrett Jack Jarrett Matthew Jack (born October 28, 1983) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended four high schools in No ...

. The Ignite joined the 2020–21 season playing a full 15-game schedule in the single-site bubble tournament in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, with 11 teams opting not to participate. In their first season, they put up an 8-7 record and entered the G League Playoffs in their first season, but they lost in the quarterfinal round to the

Raptors 905 The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, Ontario, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fi ...

. In the Ignite's second season, they were only allowed to play in the Winter Showcase, an early-season tournament that allowed them and the

Capitanes de Ciudad de México The Capitanes de Ciudad de México (English: ''Mexico City Captains'') are a Mexican professional basketball team based in Mexico City, Mexico. The Capitanes competed as a member club in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) for the ...

an opportunity to compete with other G League teams due to the reeling effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. This season was primarily led by new prospects

Dyson Daniels Dyson James Daniels (born 17 March 2003) is an Australian professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted eighth overall in the 2022 NBA draft. Early life and career Danie ...

from Australia, former

Yakima Valley College Yakima Valley College (YVC) is a public college in Yakima, Washington. It was founded as Yakima Valley Community College in 1928 with Elizabeth Prior serving as the institution's first president. The college offers five Bachelor of Applied Scienc ...

student MarJon Beauchamp, and 5-star recruit

Jaden Hardy Jaden Hardy (born July 5, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2021 class. Early life a ...

. In the 12 games they were allowed to play in, the Ignite held a 6-6 record, which gave them a 4th place finish in the West Division but did not give them qualifications to compete any further in the Winter Showcase. For their third season, the Ignite will move from

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek ser ...

to the

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the Southern Nevada, southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Stat ...

to begin playing their home games at the

Dollar Loan Center The Dollar Loan Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Henderson, Nevada. Built on the site of the former Henderson Pavilion, it is the home of the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League, the Vegas Knight Hawks of the Indo ...

Season by season

Current roster

Drafted players

References

External links

* {{Sports in Las Vegas Basketball teams established in 2020 2020 establishments in California Walnut Creek, California Sports in Contra Costa County, California Sports in Henderson, Nevada Sports teams in Las Vegas