NBA's G League Ignite will no longer exist after this season
The NBA's G League Ignite will be shut down after the current season, program president Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced Thursday.
This comes after the developmental team was introduced by the NBA in April 2020. It was presented as an alternative option for high school prospects to earn money and prepare for the NBA by competing against the G League affiliates of NBA teams instead of attending college.
In light of the NCAA’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policy, student-athletes don't need to join the G league program to cash in on their talents. The program has also struggled in performance, recording a 2-28 record this season.
As such, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been open about the uncertainty surrounding G League Ignite's path forward.
“I’m not sure what the future of Team Ignite will be because before I felt there was a hole in the marketplace we were filling,” Silver said at All-Star Weekend last month. “Now my focus is turning to earlier development of those players.”
The latter part of his statement seemed to hint at the possibility of an NBA-sponsored basketball academy for American high school-aged prospects.
Notable alum of Ignite include Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga and last year's No. 3 overall pick in the draft, Scoot Henderson.
Green made history when he committed to becoming the first participant to play for Ignite in 2020, turning down 20 official offers from major college basketball programs like the University of Kentucky, Auburn, UCLA and Villanova. After averaging 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game with Ignite, he went on to be selected as the No. 2 overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft.
Kuminga was also selected in the top 10. Isaiah Todd, Jaden Hardy, MarJon Beauchamp and Dyson Daniels were also draft picks out of Ignite.
The current Ignite roster boasts McDonald's All-Americans Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland. The team's final game will take place on March 28 against the Ontario Clippers, G League affiliate of the Los Angeles Clippers.
