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Mexico City’s Capitanes’ secret G League weapon? The altitude, per Mason Jones

justin quinn
·3 min read

One of the advantages for players looking to use a stint with Mexico City’s Capitanes in the NBA’s G League is the proximity to the parent league in terms of both distance and the fact that the teams are inside of the league’s ecosystem with largely the same rules and even at times same styles of play for a G League team as their parent organization.

Another is the boost the altitude of the Mexican metropolis provides at 7,350 feet above sea level, a fact recently discussed by Capitanes guard Mason Jones after a win over the Memphis Hustle, the G League squad of the Memphis Grizzlies, who related how Mexico City used their high-altitude conditioning to outrun their opponent.

“I think that was the biggest adjustment,” Jones explained. ” … to play faster.”

“Knowing that we were able to do that, but didn’t feel like we were capable of doing that last game — just getting more rest and being more prepared,” he added, referencing a loss earlier in the week to the Hustle that saw them playing at a slower pace.

“I think that being here for three weeks helped me and the team get used to this,” explained Jones, referencing the altitude’s impact on the club he signed with after not seeing NBA interest after a two way deal with the Los Angeles Lakers expired last season.

“I feel like we’re getting more and more adjusted game by game,” the Arkansas alum suggested.

“The better we adjust to the air, the better we become. And we showed that today — we ran faster, and people weren’t getting tired quicker. And we showed that the other team got tired because they weren’t used to it, so that’s a little advantage for our side.”

“We need to make sure we take advantage of that,” Jones noted.

With an altitude even higher than the so-called “mile-high” city of Denver and Salt Lake City at 5,200 and 4,200 feet above sea level respectively, the Capitanes are preparing their players to play at any arena in the NBA.

But as the Memphis Hustle learned last week, the same cannot be said for visiting G League squads who try to keep up with the Capitanes in transition.

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Story originally appeared on Rookie Wire