The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the
NBA G 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 D ...
based in
Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the
Dallas Mavericks
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 Southwest Division. Th ...
. The Legends play their home games at the
Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14ers in 2006, before relocating to Frisco in 2009 and becoming the Texas Legends for the 2010–11 season.
Franchise history
Colorado 14ers
In 2006, Colorado businessmen Tim Wiens and John Frew, who were building the
Broomfield Event Center at the Arista development in
Broomfield, Colorado, acquired a new minor league basketball team to attract fans in the northwest Denver-Boulder region. In February, they formed two teams, the minor league hockey team
Rocky Mountain Rage
The Rocky Mountain Rage were a professional ice hockey team that played in the Central Hockey League between the 2006–07 and 2008-09 seasons. They played their home games at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colorado.
On June 18, 2 ...
, and the Colorado 14ers, originally a
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...
club. In April, the 14ers entered the
NBA 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 ...
and began their first season. The team was named after Colorado's
14,000-foot mountain peaks.
2006–07 season
Joe Wolf, who played 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 the 1990s, was the 14ers' first coach, and put together the roster. The team won 28–22 in its first season, and broke various records for Colorado minor league basketball, from scoring to attendance. The team's leaders included
Von Wafer
Vakeaton Quamar "Von" Wafer (born July 21, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles.
Wafer has previously played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the ...
and
Louis Amundson
Louis Gabriel Amundson ( born December 7, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for UNLV and 12 years professionally, including 10 seasons in the NBA.
Early life and college
Amundson was born in ...
, who joined the NBA by the end of the season. Despite losing streaks and roster reorganizations, the team qualified for the playoffs. The 14ers won the Western Division before losing the championship in overtime to the
Dakota Wizards.
2007–08 season
The 14ers' second season began with an almost new roster, with only
Elton Brown
Elton Gillett Brown (born May 22, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football for the University of Virginia, and was recognized as ...
and Eric Osmundson staying. New players included
Kaniel Dickens, a top player on the team.
Eddie Gill was selected in the draft, joined the NBA before the first game, and returned to the team later. Kevin Hill, the only Canadian, was drafted. Five others joined the NBA, including the simultaneous call-ups of Dickens and
Billy Thomas on February 22, 2008, by the
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...
. Despite turnover, the 14ers played well, finishing with one more win than the prior season. The 14ers' six consecutive wins at the end of the season put them in the playoffs as a
wild card, but they lost in the first round to the
Los Angeles D-Fenders
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significan ...
.
2008–09 season
The 14ers' third season had the most consecutive seasons played by any minor league basketball franchise in Colorado. The season began with financial issues for the owners and a new coach, Robert MacKinnon.
Joe Wolf had moved to the NBA. The new roster included
Eddie Gill,
Billy Thomas, and Jamar Brown, who had played for the
Colorado Crossover. New players, Dominique Coleman and
Josh Davis, played well, as did
Sonny Weems
Clarence "Sonny" Weems (born July 8, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkans ...
, assigned from 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 ...
three times to play during the regular season and playoffs. Early in the season, the 14ers led the D-League in wins and set the D-League record for points in a single game with a 147–119 win over the
Rio Grande Valley Vipers on March 10. The 14ers later broke that record with a 155–127 win over the
Albuquerque Thunderbirds on April 8. Finishing with a record of 34 wins, the 14ers played at home for the playoffs, and defeated the
Erie BayHawks,
Austin Toros
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, and
Utah Flash to become the D-League champions.
Texas Legends
On June 18, 2009, a
Dallas Mavericks
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 Southwest Division. Th ...
executive,
Donnie Nelson
Donn Charles Nelson (born September 10, 1962) is an American basketball executive who previously held general manager and president of basketball operations roles for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the s ...
, purchased the 14ers, and moved the team to
Frisco, Texas. They played in 2010–11 with a new nickname, color, and logo. On November 5, 2009, women's basketball pioneer
Nancy Lieberman became the Legends' head coach, the first woman to lead a men's professional basketball team. The team played in the 2010–11 season out of the
Comerica Center. The Legends hired other notable basketball professionals for their front office, including 1986 Slam Dunk Champion
Spud Webb as president of basketball operations and 1995 NBA Coach of the Year
Del Harris
Delmer William Harris (born June 18, 1937) is an American basketball coach who is currently the vice president of the Texas Legends, the NBA G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. He served as a head coach for the NBA's Houston Rockets, Mi ...
as general manager.
Televised games introduced the Legends to fans of the 16-team league. They were on national TV during
Versus three times, and appeared twice on Fox Sports Southwest. The game against the
Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Versus was their first TV appearance. After dropping the opener, the Legends had their first win on November 26 against the
Idaho Stampede, scoring 108–100. The Legends' first game in Frisco was on November 30. The Legends scored a league record of 84 points in the first half, and a 135–112 win over the
Austin Toros
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
. They began the season with a 5–1 record, the best six-game start for an expansion team in the league's history. They finished the regular season with a 24–26 record, and went to the playoffs. They were the third expansion team to play in the postseason, but were eliminated in the first round by the
Tulsa 66ers
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
.
After Nancy Lieberman,
Del Harris
Delmer William Harris (born June 18, 1937) is an American basketball coach who is currently the vice president of the Texas Legends, the NBA G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. He served as a head coach for the NBA's Houston Rockets, Mi ...
was the head coach, starting October 4, 2011. He coached the Legends for one season, had a 24–26 record for the second consecutive year, but did not make the playoffs. Between 2012 and 2015, the Legends' head coach was former NBA player
Eduardo Nájera. The team did not make the playoffs while he was head coach. On July 8, 2015, the Legends hired
Nick Van Exel as the head coach. After one season, in June 2016, Exel left to be an assistant coach for the
Memphis Grizzlies. He was replaced by
Bob MacKinnon Jr., who had previously been the head coach when the 14ers won a D-League championship in Colorado.
Ownership
The team is owned by Texas D-League Management, LLC, which is principally owned by
Donnie Nelson
Donn Charles Nelson (born September 10, 1962) is an American basketball executive who previously held general manager and president of basketball operations roles for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the s ...
, former general manager and President of Basketball Operations for the
Dallas Mavericks
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 Southwest Division. Th ...
and son of former NBA head coach
Don Nelson
Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...
. The ownership group also includes Evan Wyly, Barry Aycock and
Eduardo Nájera.
Season by season
Players
Current roster
Coaches
NBA call-ups
Source
2015–16 Texas Legends Media Guide
Honor roll
Past notable players
Colorado 14ers
*
Julius Hodge
Julius Melvin Hodge (born November 18, 1983) is an American-Antiguan former professional basketball player and current assistant coach at Little Rock Trojans. Originally from Harlem, New York, Hodge played college basketball at NC State and was s ...
*
Lou Amundson
*
Bakari Hendrix
Bakari Akil Hendrix (born May 23, 1977) is a retired American basketball player. He was a standout player at Gonzaga University and played professionally in eleven countries.
Hendrix, a 6'8" power forward from St. Patrick-St. Vincent High Schoo ...
*
P. J. Tucker
*
Mile Ilic
*
Von Wafer
Vakeaton Quamar "Von" Wafer (born July 21, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles.
Wafer has previously played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the ...
*
Mike Harris
*
Pooh Jeter
*
Mark Jones
*
Rick Rickert
*
Chuck Davis
*
Mo Charlo
*
Tony Bobbitt
Tony Rachaun Bobbitt (born October 22, 1979) is a former American professional basketball player.
Bobbitt played alongside National Basketball Association (NBA) player Vince Carter at Daytona Beach Mainland High School, where he graduated in 1999 ...
*
Elton Brown
Elton Gillett Brown (born May 22, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football for the University of Virginia, and was recognized as ...
*
Davin White
Davin White (born December 31, 1981) is an American professional basketball player for Venados de Mazatlán of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP).
High school
White played high school basketball at North High School, in Phoenix, ...
*
Lou White
*
Taurean Green
Taurean James Green (born November 28, 1986) is a Georgian-American professional basketball player who last played for Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He is the son of former NBA journeyman Sidney Green. Green ...
*
Roderick Riley
*
Eddie Gill
*
John Thomas
*
Kaniel Dickens
*
Cheikh Samb
Samb Cheikh Tidiane (born October 22, 1984) is a Senegalese former professional basketball player. He played at the center position.
Basketball career
In the 2005-06 season, Samb played for WTC Cornellá in the Spanish second division, averaging ...
*
Marlon Parmer
Marlon Palmer (born September 28, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player.
Career
*2008-09: Colorado 14ers (NBA D-League) 15.0 ppg, 6.0 apg, 2.0 spg
*2007: BC Kalev/Cramo (Est-KML) (9 games): 12.6ppg, 2.7apg, 4.2rpg 0.8spg
*20 ...
*
Lamar Butler
Lamar Edward Butler, Jr. (born December 21, 1983) is an American former basketball player and current boys basketball coach. He was a starting guard for the Patriots of George Mason University during the Patriots' surprising run to the Final Fo ...
*
Josh Davis
*
Trey Gilder
George "Trey" Gilder III (born January 24, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for Indios de Mayagüez of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for McNeese State, Tyler Junior College and Northwester ...
*
Vernon Hamilton
*
John Lucas III
John Harding Lucas III (born November 21, 1982) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketbal ...
*
Billy Thomas
*
Sonny Weems
Clarence "Sonny" Weems (born July 8, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkans ...
Texas Legends
*
Joe Alexander
Joe Alexander (ג'ו אלכסנדר; born December 26, 1986) is a Taiwanese-born American-Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Liga Leumit. Alexander, who at plays both forward positions, was selected for the ...
*
Kelenna Azubuike
Kelenna David Azubuike (born 16 December 1983) is a British-Nigerian-American former professional basketball player and currently the Golden State Warriors television analyst on NBC Sports Bay Area.
Born in London, England and raised in Tulsa, O ...
*
Renaldo Balkman
*
Antonio Daniels
Antonio Robert Daniels (born March 19, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the television color analyst for the New Orleans Pelicans on Ba ...
*
Chris Douglas-Roberts
Chris Douglas Roberts (born January 8, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Memphis.
High school career
Douglas-Roberts played high school basketball at Cass Technical High ...
*
Devin Ebanks
Devin Ebanks (born October 28, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Al-Ahli of the Saudi Premier League. The forward was selected 43rd overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2010 NBA draft. He played college basketball for t ...
*
Melvin Ely
Melvin Anderson Ely (; born May 2, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who used to be an assistant coach for the Canton Charge of the NBA G League.
A 6'10", , power forward–center from Fresno State, Ely was drafted ...
*
Dan Gadzuric
Daniel Gadzuric (born February 2, 1978) is a Dutch- Serbian former professional basketball player.
Gadzuric, a center, attended preparatory school at The Governor's Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, before playing college basketball for the Br ...
*
Reece Gaines
*
Terrel Harris
Terrel Andre Harris (born August 10, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Maccabi Ashdod of the Israeli Super League.
High school and college
Harris attended South Garland High School in Garland, Texas ...
*
Bernard James
Bernard Ronald James (born February 7, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Florida State University. He is also the oldest player ever to be drafted in the National Basketball Association ...
*
Damion James
*
Mike James
*
Ivan Johnson
Ivan Nicholas Johnson (27 June 1953 – 4 October 2021) was a professional, all rounder, English first-class cricketer who played for Worcestershire County Cricket Club from 1972 to 1975.
Johnson was the only The Bahamas, Bahamian to have pl ...
*
Dominique Jones
*
Doron Lamb
Doron Emmanuel Calvin Lamb (born November 6, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Scafati Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A. He played college basketball for the University of Kentucky.
High school career
Lamb was born in Qu ...
*
Ricky Ledo
Ricardo Julio Ledo (born September 10, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Semt77 Yalovaspor of the Turkish Basketball League (TBL). He committed to play for the Providence Friars, but the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
*
Didier Ilunga Mbenga
*
Rashad McCants
Rashad Dion McCants (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as overseas. He played for Trilogy in the BIG3 three-on-three league.
High scho ...
*
Fab Melo
*
James Nunnally
James William Nunnally (born July 14, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for KK Partizan Belgrade of the Serbian KLS, the Adriatic League and the EuroLeague.
High school career
Nunnally attended Weston Ranch High School in St ...
*
Greg Ostertag
Gregory Donovan Ostertag (born March 6, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent most of his career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at the University of Kan ...
*
Sean Singletary
Sean Michael-Eli Singletary (born September 6, 1985) is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other professional leagues. He played college basketball at the University of ...
*
Alando Tucker
Alando Forest Tucker (born February 11, 1984) is an American former collegiate basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played for the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the NBA, he played college basketba ...
*
Delonte West
*
Sean Williams
*
Yi Jianlian
Yi Jianlian ( ; born October 27, 1987) is a Chinese professional basketball player for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He has also played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwau ...
*
Bobby Parks Jr.
NBA affiliates
Texas Legends
*
Dallas Mavericks
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 Southwest Division. Th ...
(2010–present)
Colorado 14ers
*
Chicago Bulls (2006–2007)
*
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 ...
(2006–2009)
*
New Jersey Nets (2006–2009)
*
Toronto Raptors (2006–2008)
References
External links
Texas Legends official website
{{Texas sports
Basketball teams established in 2010
Sports in Frisco, Texas
2010 establishments in Texas
Basketball teams in Texas