The NBA announced that it has decided to conclude the project of the Ignite Team (2-28), which aimed to develop young players like alternative to playing college basketball and receiving a salaryat the end of this G League season.
The league alludes to name, image and likeness policies (NIL) from the NCAA and the college transfer portal as one of the reasons for ending their team in the G League. Now, NILs allow college athletes to commercially exploit their image.
NBA G League Ignite, the league’s owned-and-operated team focused on developing NBA prospects, is concluding its final season, NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced today.
The decision to end the program comes amid the changing basketball landscape, including the…
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) March 21, 2024
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, president of the G League, made the official announcement, noting that the Ignite Team was an alternative for NBA prospects to learn about professional sports and receive a salary.
“Four years ago we started Ignite to fill a void in the basketball landscape and I’m proud of the contributions we were able to make to that ecosystem,” Abdur-Rahim said. “With the changes in youth and college basketball, I think it is the right time to take this path.”
Among the most notable players on this year’s squad, which was under the management of head coach Jason Hart, are Lithuanian Matas Buzelis (13.7p, 6.5r) and American Ron Holland (19.5p, 6.7r, 3.1a ) next to Spanish Izan Almansa (10.7p, 7.1r).
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Which Ignite players were drafted into the NBA?
The experiment proved that the league was doing the right thing in promoting a new path to reaching the NBA. In total, ten players from the development league team were chosen in the draft. The first crop of Ignite Team players to be drafted arrived in 2021 and included Jalen Green (No.2, Houston Rockets), Jonathan Kuminga (No.7, Golden State Warriors) and Isaiah Todd (No.31 Milwaukee Bucks).
A year later, three new players on the G League team heard their name called in the recruiting process. First Dyson Daniels (No.8 New Orleans Pelicans), followed by MarJon Baeuchamp (No.24 Milwaukee Bucks) and Jaden Hardy (No.37, Sacramento Kings).
In the last Draft, the number of Ignite Team representatives increased to four. Scoot Henderson (No.3, Portland Trail Blazers) was chosen after Victor Wembanyama and Brandon Miller. The remaining three were selected in the second round: Leonard Miller (No.33, San Antonio Spurs), Sidy Cissoko (No.44, San Antonio Spurs) and Mojave King (No.47, Los Angeles Lakers).
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2024-03-21 21:56:50
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