The NBA G League is “seriously discussing” the possibility of putting on a tournament this fall that would include the Ignite, the league’s new select team, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
According to Charania, the situation remains fluid, but the tentative plan would be for the tournament to take place in a bubble environment at some point in November or December. The Ignite – the NBAGL’s select team that features top prospects such as Jalen Green, Daishen Nix, and Jonathan Kuminga – would be the event’s headliners.
It’s not clear which other teams would participate in such a tournament. Charania suggests that “undrafted players” may fill out other rosters, so it’s possible the event would represent a sort of Summer League alternative for young players auditioning for NBA training camp invites rather than a full-fledged G League event featuring teams made up of NBAGL veterans. That’s just my speculation though.
The uncertain fate of the G League’s 2020/21 season has been an underreported consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. Unlike the NBA, the G League relies heavily on commercial travel, which likely won’t be as practical as it was pre-pandemic. And with far less revenue at stake, the league is less likely to pour significant resources into ensuring the ’20/21 NBAGL season can be played.
A series of smaller, bubble-environment events like the one described by Charania may be an alternative path for the G League if a full season can’t be played. We’ll probably have to wait for clarity on the NBA’s ’20/21 season before we get a more concrete update on the NBAGL’s campaign.
the Ignite sounds like a dance team. Capital ‘t’ or ‘the’, still.
Sarcasm, sorry— Everyone get fired up! Forgive the errors, they will be straightened out in time. These are just exhibitions planned.
Actually I support the Ignite idea and will likely tune in and get mad at the announcers for not taking it seriously enough and not keeping track of the names like other allstar games with no team goals.
Yeah I agree. The Ignite would be an excellent name for the Heat cheerleaders.
As far as the tourney goes, I don’t mind them doing it in the G League since that is just a developmental league anyway. But if this is meant to serve as a precursor to putting one in the bigs, then no…just no.