The NBA D-League tips off its 15th season tonight. As the NBA’s minor league, many people are still unfamiliar with the NBA D-League (also known as the NBADL).
Well, here’s all you need to know to become a NBADL expert!
Fun Facts
- All 19 teams are partnered with NBA franchises – like the Santa Cruz Warriors and the Westchester Knicks.
- The NBA D-League will become even bigger next season! The Bulls, Nets and Hornets franchises are joining the NBADL to bring the team total up to 22.
- NBA D-League teams actually score MORE than NBA teams. The NBADL averaged nearly 20 more points than the NBA in its games last season.
- The NBADL scoring starts with the Reno Bighorns (partners with the Sacramento Kings). Last season, the Bighorns averaged 133.1 (!!!) points per game.
- The Warriors became the first franchise to win both the NBA and NBADL titles last season!
Find Your Star
A lot of the NBA’s best players today actually played in the NBADL. Check out the list below of some of the biggest names that once played in the minor league:
- Chris “Birdman” Andersen
- Eric Bledsoe
- Avery Bradley
- Seth Curry
- Danny Green
- Gerald Green
- Jeremy Lin
- C.J. McCollum
- Hassan Whiteside
Did You Know???
Out of all NBA players entering this season, 30 percent of them spent some time in the NBA D-League in their basketball careers. That’s nearly one out of every three NBA players!