NBA G League finally started

After months of speculation and a legitimate amount of industry-wide intrigue, the NBA G League season tipped off Wednesday.

Eighteen teams, including 17 NBA G League teams and NBA G League Ignite, will each play 15 games from Feb. 10 – March 6 at Disney. The top eight teams from the 135-game schedule will advance to a single-elimination playoff, which will begin on March 8 and conclude with the NBA G Final presented by YouTube TV on March 11.

There are plenty of under-the-radar storylines, and stakes as players compete not only to win games but for the next available NBA roster opening. But, frankly, there’s a lot more going on with the G League than usual this season.

Much has been made of the NBA’s G League Ignite team, a first-of-its-kind team dedicated to developing top young prospects. It features two projected top-five draft picks and three potential first-rounders in total.

You’ll also find a host of two-way contract and NBA roster players on assignment. Many of them are rookies who spent the past few months itching for minutes but stuck on NBA benches. And of course, there are players on regular G League deals who are auditioning and can be signed by teams at any time (players can sign 10-day contracts beginning Feb. 23).

Keep in mind that only 17 affiliate franchises are participating, leading to relatively loaded rosters, many of which included assignees from NBA teams who chose not to send their own affiliates to Orlando. Although it doesn’t necessarily portend high-quality play given the circumstances, there’s a greater level of depth than usual.

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