Current:Home > InvestWhy the NBA's G League Ignite will shut down after 2023-24 season -TradeWise
Why the NBA's G League Ignite will shut down after 2023-24 season
View
Date:2025-04-12 19:40:16
The NBA is shutting down the G League Ignite team at the end of this season, the league has announced.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver suggested during All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis last month that this was a possibility, and it was made official with Thursday's announcement.
The league owned and operated the Ignite, and the Ignite program was focused on developing young NBA prospects, some of whom were not yet age-eligible for the NBA Draft.
"Launched in April 2020, G League Ignite has provided a first-of-its-kind development pathway for NBA Draft prospects to hone their skills, learn the professional game and receive a salary and endorsement income ahead of their NBA Draft eligibility,” the league said in a statement.
However, a changing environment, especially financially in men’s college basketball, reduced the need for a G League team dedicated to young draft prospects. The Ignite struggled this season and are 2-28 with four games remaining.
Let’s examine the G League Ignite’s demise:
Why is the G League Ignite shutting down?
When the G League Ignite started, it filled a void for young players who sought monetary compensation, weren’t interested in attending college and didn’t want to play overseas like Brandon Jennings and others did before they were age-eligible for the draft.
The financial aspect is no longer a hold-up for those players. “The decision to end the program comes amid the changing basketball landscape, including the NCAA’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policy and the advent of collectives and the transfer portal,” the G League said in a news release.
At All-Star Weekend, Silver said, “The time that we formed Team Ignite, I think I was very public about the fact that I favored going to a minimum age of 18 instead of 19. As we sat down with our players to discuss that and then essentially the college market changed … a lot changed around us, and then we came to a consensus when we sat down with the players and our teams that we were better off staying at 19.
“I’d say also some of the societal concerns that were driving us to move to 18, that there seemed to be an unfairness that these players even at the highest level couldn’t earn a living in college basketball, and we, the league and the Players Association together, were preventing them from doing that. That dissipated because all of a sudden this great economic opportunity presented itself through these various programs at college.”
Did the G League Ignite have success?
The Ignite’s focus youthful roster and inexperience led to losses. But as noted, the program was focused on player development. Success for the Ignite was not measures in victories.
In the previous three drafts, 10 Ignite players were drafted, including four lottery picks.
G League Ignite players drafted
Scoot Henderson, No. 3 pick, 2023 draft
Leonard Miller, No. 33 pick, 2023 draft
Sidy Cissoko, No. 44 pick, 2023 draft
Mojave King, No. 47 pick, 2023 draft
Dyson Daniels, No. 8 pick, 2022 draft
MarJon Beauchamp, No. 24 pick, 2022 draft
Jaden Hardy, No. 37 pick, 2022 draft
Jalen Green, No. 2 pick, 2021 draft
Jonathan Kuminga, No. 7 pick, 2021 draft
Isaiah Todd, No. 31 pick, 2021 draft
Will any Ignite players be selected in the 2024 NBA draft?
Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis are projected lottery picks, with Holland slotted at No. 9 and Buzelis at No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY NBA mock draft. Tyler Smith is projected to go No. 18.
Will 18-year-olds still be able to play in the G League?
There is no change to the G League’s eligibility rule, meaning players 18 years old can still play in the G League. A handful of players that age were drafted before the Ignite began operations.
veryGood! (85)
Related
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Soccer Star Neymar and Bruna Biancardi Break Up Less Than 2 Months After Welcoming Baby Girl
- Don’t have Spotify Wrapped? Here's how to get your Apple Music Replay for 2023
- Permanent parking: Man sentenced to life in prison for murdering neighbor over parking spot
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- Check your child’s iPhone for this new feature: The warning police are issuing to parents
- Philips sleep apnea machines can overheat, FDA warns
- Kansas scraps new license plate design after complaints: 'Looks too much like New York's'
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- More cantaloupe products recalled over possible salmonella contamination; CDC, FDA investigating
Ranking
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Kyle Richards' Sisters Kim and Kathy Gush Over Mauricio Umansky Amid Their Separation
- 'Sex and the City' star Cynthia Nixon goes on hunger strike to call for cease-fire in Gaza
- Search remains suspended for 4 missing crewmembers in Mississippi River
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- 'Sex and the City' star Cynthia Nixon goes on hunger strike to call for cease-fire in Gaza
- Finland closes last crossing point with Russia, sealing off entire border as tensions rise
- Coal-producing West Virginia is converting an entire school system to solar power
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
A forgotten trove of rare video games could now be worth six figures
Attorney says Young Thug stands for 'Truly Humble Under God' in Day 2 of RICO trial
Ohio bill to ban diversity training requirements in higher education stalls in GOP House
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Canada says Google will pay $74 million annually to Canadian news industry under new online law
Will wolverines go extinct? US offers new protections as climate change closes in
Nigeria’s leader presents $34 billion spending plan for 2024, prioritizing the economy, security