NBA G League season starts in February at Disney
There will be an NBA G League season, after all. The NBA G League announced that 18 teams will take to the court in February at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla. The top eight teams will advance to a single-elimination playoff.
NBA teams without an NBA G League affiliate participating in Orlando will have the opportunity to assign roster players and transfer Two-Way players using the league’s flexible assignment and Two-Way rules. The full list of the 17 participating NBA G League teams is below.
• Agua Caliente Clippers (LA Clippers)
• Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs)
• Canton Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers)
• Delaware Blue Coats (Philadelphia 76ers)
• Erie BayHawks (New Orleans Pelicans)
• Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Indiana Pacers)
• Greensboro Swarm (Charlotte Hornets)
• Iowa Wolves (Minnesota Timberwolves)
• Lakeland Magic (Orlando Magic)
• Long Island Nets (Brooklyn Nets)
• Memphis Hustle (Memphis Grizzlies)
• Oklahoma City Blue (Oklahoma City Thunder)
• Raptors 905 (Toronto Raptors)
• Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets)
• Salt Lake City Stars (Utah Jazz)
• Santa Cruz Warriors (Golden State Warriors)
• Westchester Knicks (New York Knicks)
Several teams are missing on the list because they opted out of the 2021 season.
Ignite, the recently launched team for elite NBA Draft-eligible players coached by former NBA player and head coach Brian Shaw, will play its first games against NBA G League competition in Orlando. Unlike a traditional season, Ignite will be eligible to advance to the playoffs at Walt Disney World Resort due to the unique circumstances of this year. Players, coaches, team and league staff living on the NBA G League’s campus at Walt Disney World Resort will be guided by comprehensive league-wide health and safety protocols based on the core principles of social distancing, mask-wearing, hand hygiene, and COVID-19 testing.
The NBA G League heads to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney just a few months after the NBA successfully restarted the 2019-20 NBA regular season at that venue last summer, culminating with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA title. The complete 2021 NBA G League game and broadcast schedule will be announced at a later date.