The NBA G League is the NBA’s official minor league, preparing players, coaches, officials, trainers, and front-office staff for the NBA while acting as the league’s research and development laboratory. Featuring 30 teams — 28 with one-to-one affiliations with NBA franchises — the league offers elite professional basketball at an affordable price in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere. NBA G League Ignite also plays against G League competition.
The NBA G League played its inaugural season in 2001-02 as the National Basketball Development League, with eight teams based primarily in the Southeastern United States. Since its inception, the league has grown to 30 teams, featuring a reach stretching from Greater Los Angeles to Maine.
Rosters
Forty-one percent of players on NBA start-of-season rosters for 2021-22 had NBA G League experience, with an all-time high of 45 percent on rosters the previous season. With big names such as Pascal Siakam, Rudy Gobert, and Jordan Poole leading the way, every NBA team has at least one NBA G League alumni playing with them this past season.
There are nine different paths a player can take to an NBA G League roster, which includes Two-Way Players, Returning Players, Affiliate Players, Local Tryout Players, NBA G League Draft Picks, NBA Draft Rights Players, NBA Assignees, NBA Draft-Eligible Players and Free Agents.
Rules
The NBA uses the NBA G League as a testing ground for new rules each season. Some previous experimental rules that were eventually implemented in the NBA include the Coach’s Challenge and the 14 Second Shot Clock Reset on offensive rebounds.
Beginning in the 2019-20 season, the NBA G League implemented the One Free Throw Rule. This innovative rule states that one free throw shall be taken in all free throw situations during the first 46 minutes of the game. The free throw is worth the value of total free throws allotted under standard NBA free throw rules. For example, a player shooting a 3-pointer who is fouled and misses the shot takes one free throw worth three points. During the last two minutes of a game and overtime standard NBA free throw rules apply.
The NBA G League has been proactive in attempting to cut down on ‘transition take fouls’ to keep teams from stopping fastbreaks with a common foul. A transition take foul occurs when a defender commits a take foul (a foul in which the defender does not make a play on the ball) against an offensive player who has the ball or has just released a pass; a foul is committed during a transition scoring opportunity; and a foul does not meet the criteria for a clear path foul. The fouled team may select any player in the game to shoot one free throw and retains the ball at the point of interruption.
Overtime
Beginning in 2022-23, games that advance to overtime will be determined by a Final Target Score. The winner of an overtime game during the season will be the first team to reach or surpass the Final Target Score, which will be the tied score after four quarters plus seven. For example, if the teams are tied at 100-100, the Final Target Score would be 107. Overtime will be untimed, and games will end when a team makes a basket or free throw to reach or surpass the Final Target Score.
Winter Showcase
Additionally, all 31 games at the 2022 AT&T NBA G League Winter Showcase in Las Vegas will utilize a 25-point Final Target Score during an untimed fourth quarter. Under this model, the Final Target Score will be the leading team’s score after three quarters plus 25.
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