What Is The G-League? All About the NBA’s Minor League

Its official! Only eight games into his rookie season, Bronny James has been assigned to the South Bay Lakers, the Purple and Gold franchise's G League affiliate. Well, this was always part of the plan as per JJ Redick as he deemed Bronny 'Test case number 1' for the team's development program. But with all the hype around the Lakers' decision for the star rookie, surely many of you would be curious to know more about the league Bronny will play in.

Don't worry. We have got you covered.

NBA G League: David Stern's initiative for aspiring athletes Well, there are only 450 roster spots in the NBA. Ninety more if you add two-way deals, three per team. But there are millions who aspire to make it to that stage. And to keep their hoop dream alive while also preparing them for the big leagues, former NBA Commissioner David Stern along with then deputy Commissioner Russ Granik announced the formation of the G League in the summer of 2000, making it the official minor league of the NBA. Obviously, it was known as the National Basketball Development League when it first started and remained so for five years.

It was one year after the announcement that the NBA's minor league conducted its debut season. Sure enough, the league aimed to prepare players, officials, coaches and other staff for the jump to the NBA while also serving as a "Research and Development laboratory." Well, Stern's initiative began with only eight franchises, with all teams located in the nation's southeastern region. That included Virginia, Alabama, Georgia and more. As expected, the league quickly began gaining traction and got a Reebok sponsorship and even had nationally televised games. And the Greenville Groove became the inaugural NBDL Champions.

Then, it was in 2005 that its name was changed to the NBA D-League, to show the fans more of an association with the NBA which was initially missing. Along with that, the number of teams were also increased, extending to the Southwest region for a wider reach. But the teams back then were multi-affiliated. Sure enough, the Lakers became the first league franchise to directly own a D-League team, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, now known as the South Bay Lakers. And it later sparked a trend of teams getting into single affiliation agreements as the Houston Rockets became the first franchise to do so.

By 2015, all D-League teams were affiliated with just one NBA franchise. And it was only two years later that the league was renamed to the one we are familiar with now, G League. Well, that was because of their multi-year expanded partnership with Gatorade. Of course, this brilliant initiative has given us many star players over the years.

G League players turned NBA stars. Can Bronny James join this list? Starting this season, all 30 NBA teams have their very own G League affiliate squad with the Phoenix Suns recently joining the party by forming the Valley Suns. Moreover, the league also has an independent team, the Mexico City Capitanes. And that gives aspiring athletes a lot of opportunity and hope to make it big. Of course, players can join the league either through tryouts or by bagging a two-way NBA contract or even a guaranteed deal as seen in Bronny's case. Only five years ago, they also began offering select contracts to those currently ineligible for the NBA draft, but have the potential to turn into stars.

And there have been many stars who have emerged from the G League and are now household names. Well, PJ Tucker had a similar route as he started his journey as a developmental player. And now, he is a respected veteran in the league and also an NBA Champion with an illustrious career. Even Fred VanVleet started his journey in the G League and went on to bag the largest NBA contract for an undrafted free agent. Moreover, he too won a championship five years ago with the Raptors. Other notable names include Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka and also four-time DPOY Rudy Gobert. So, if you play your cards right, you can make it big from playing in the G League.