G League’s Erie Bayhawks to cease operations

The NBA G League will see a major shakeup next season, as the Erie BayHawks made an official announcement on Thursday, stating that they will cease operations “in the coming weeks.”

“We’ve made the determination that we will cease operations in the coming weeks due to not being unable to find another NBA partner, or other adequate opportunities, to keep G League basketball in Erie,” said Erie Basketball Management’s president Matt Bresee and sole managing partner, Owen McCormick. “This result is merely a reflection of the changing landscape of the NBA as many teams prefer their G League affiliate be located nearby, and Erie simply is not positioned geographically to provide that.”

“While this saddens us for our fans and the Erie community, we are deeply appreciative of the tremendous support the BayHawks received over the past 13 years. The Erie region can be proud of the history the BayHawks made and the role that Erie played for the NBA during our years in the NBA Development League and NBA G League.”

The BayHawks played their first season in 2008-09 and have served as the NBA affiliate to the New Orleans Pelicans, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, and Washington Wizards.

In the G League’s most recent season, the BayHawks went 11-4 in the bubble, losing in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champions (the Lakeland Magic).