The NBA will close G-League Ignite after this season, canceling the elite prospect development team that was launched in 2020, according to sources briefed on the matter to The Athletic.
Sources: The NBA is shutting down the G League Ignite team after this season, canceling the development squad of elite draft prospects and veterans that launched in 2020.
Full details at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/7KAYBVX1lI
– Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 21, 2024
The NBA launched G-League Ignite at a time when no other U.S. professional league offered draft-eligible players a pathway to meaningful compensation for playing.
With the advent of name, image and likeness (NIL) rights in the NCAA, the need for such a team in the G-League was gone. Now the NIL allows players to earn money while attending college and gaining NCAA experience.
Last month, during All-Star Weekend, NBA commisioner Adam Silver had stated that Ignite’s future was being reevaluated.
“I don’t know what the future of Team Ignite will be, because I felt before that there was a hole in the market that we were filling.”, Silver said. “Now I’m focusing on developing these players.”
Out of the Ignites, in recent seasons, have come players who are having their say in the NBA such as Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Scoot Henderson, the second overall pick in last year’s draft.
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