2020–21 NBA G League season

The 2020–21 NBA G League season will be the 20th season of the NBA G League, the official minor league basketball organization owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season was indefinitely postponed following the previous season's cessation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan is to use the same type of isolation season as the 2020 NBA Bubble with all games at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida. Only 17 of the 28 teams from the previous season will participate.

2020–21 NBA G League season
LeagueNBA G League
SportBasketball
DurationFebruary 10 – March 11, 2021
Number of teams18
Draft
Top draft pickAdmiral Schofield[1]
Picked byGreensboro Swarm
Regular season

League changes

In December 2019, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that the Capitanes de Ciudad de México of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional would be joining the G League in the 2020–21 season on a five-year agreement.[2] The 2019–20 season was then curtailed by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic and all remaining games after March 12, 2020, and the playoffs were cancelled.

On July 9, 2020, the Phoenix Suns announced they were relocating their G League franchise, the Northern Arizona Suns, from the Prescott Valley to the Phoenix area for the 2020–21 season[3] and subsequently sold the franchise to the Detroit Pistons.[4] The Pistons plan to move the team to Detroit in the 2021–22 season under the name Motor City Cruise.[5] The New Orleans Pelicans launched a name-the-team contest for their upcoming team in Birmingham.[6]

During the constantly changing restrictions amid the pandemic, no announcements for the 2020–21 season were made by the league or the NBA. The NBA season began in December 2020. It was rumored that all games for the G League season would take place in a bubble similar to the 2020 NBA Bubble in either Atlanta, Georgia, or outside Orlando, Florida, with several teams likely to opt out,[7] but that the NBA G League Ignite prospects team would be joining.[8][9] The bubble season was confirmed by the league on January 8, 2021, to start in February at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida. Eleven teams opted out of the season: the Capital City Go-Go, College Park Skyhawks, Grand Rapids Drive, Maine Red Claws, Northern Arizona Suns, Sioux Falls SkyForce, South Bay Lakers, Stockton Kings, Texas Legends, Windy City Bulls, and Wisconsin Herd.[10] The Capitanes de Ciudad de México also announced they would postpone their first season in the league until 2021–22.[11]

The schedule was announced on January 27 with the 18 teams each playing 15 regular season games between February 10 and March 6. There is no conference or divisional alignment in the bubble and the top eight teams play a single-elimination playoff from March 8 through the championship game on March 11.[12]

Regular season

As of January 2021:[13]

x – qualified for playoffs; y – regular season champion

Team (affiliate) W L PCT GB
Austin Spurs (SAS)00–0
Agua Caliente Clippers (LAC)00–0
Canton Charge (CLE)00–0
Delaware Blue Coats (PHI)00–0
Erie BayHawks (NO)00–0
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (IND)00–0
Greensboro Swarm (CHA)00–0
Iowa Wolves (MIN)00–0
Lakeland Magic (ORL)00–0
Long Island Nets (BKN)00–0
Memphis Hustle (MEM)00–0
NBA G League Ignite00–0
Oklahoma City Blue (OKC)00–0
Raptors 905 (TOR)00–0
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (HOU)00–0
Salt Lake City Stars (UTA)00–0
Santa Cruz Warriors (GSW)00–0
Westchester Knicks (NYK)00–0

References
  1. "Greensboro Swarm Select Admiral Schofield with First Pick of 2021 NBA G League Draft". OurSports Central. January 11, 2021.
  2. "NBA G League Expands to Mexico City in Landmark Partnership with Capitanes". NBA G League. December 12, 2019.
  3. "NAZ Suns announce they are leaving Prescott Valley". Arizona Daily Sun. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  4. "Pistons purchase Suns' NBA G League team". GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  5. "Detroit Pistons NBA G League Affiliate To Be Named 'Motor City Cruise'". GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 30, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  6. "New Orleans Pelicans seeking fan input for G-League team name". December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  7. McMenamin, Dave (December 17, 2020). "Sources: G League pushing forward; eyeing reduced bubble, shortened season". ESPN. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  8. "Ignite Team Featuring Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga Among 18 Teams Expected To Participate In G League Bubble". Forbes. December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  9. "NBA G League to begin 2020-21 season in February at Disney World bubble, per report". CBS Sports. December 29, 2020.
  10. "NBA G League To Begin Play at Disney In February". NBA G League. January 8, 2021.
  11. "NBA G-LEAGUE ANUNCIA EL INICIO DE SU TEMPORADA 2021 CAPITANES DEBUTARÁ EN LA SIGUIENTE TEMPORADA(2021-2022)". Capitanes. January 8, 2021.
  12. "NBA G League Tips off February 10 at Disney". OurSports Central. January 27, 2021.
  13. "NBA G League Standings". NBA G League. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
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