2020–21 NBA G League season explained

2020–21 NBA G League season
League:NBA G League
Sport:Basketball
Duration:February 9 – March 11, 2021
No Of Teams:18
Draft:Draft
Top Pick:Admiral Schofield[1]
Top Pick Link:List of first overall NBA G League draft picks
Picked By:Greensboro Swarm
Season:Regular season
Top Seed:Raptors 905
Mvp Link:NBA G League Most Valuable Player Award
Finals Champ:Lakeland Magic
Finals Runner-Up:Delaware Blue Coats
Finals Mvp Link:NBA G League Finals Most Valuable Player Award
Seasonslist:List of NBA G League yearly standings
Seasonslistnames:NBA G League
Prevseason Link:2019–20 NBA G League season
Prevseason Year:2019–20
Nextseason Link:2021–22 NBA G League season
Nextseason Year:2021–22

The 2020–21 NBA G League season was 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 league used 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, plus the new NBA G League Ignite development team, chose to participate.

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 9 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]

Playoffs

For the first time since the 2006–07 NBA Development League season, the playoffs were held entirely as a single-elimination bracket (the league held this type of format from 2003 to 2007, albeit with four teams for the first three seasons and six for the last season). The Lakeland Magic became the lowest seeded team to win a G League championship.

Championship boxscore

Awards

Player of the Week

!Date!Player!Ref
February 16, 2021Paul Reed[13]
February 22, 2021Moses Brown[14]
March 1, 2021Kevin Porter Jr.[15]
March 8, 2021Henry Ellenson[16]

Notable occurrences

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Greensboro Swarm Select Admiral Schofield with First Pick of 2021 NBA G League Draft . OurSports Central . January 11, 2021.
  2. Web site: NBA G League Expands to Mexico City in Landmark Partnership with Capitanes . NBA G League . December 12, 2019.
  3. News: NAZ Suns announce they are leaving Prescott Valley. Arizona Daily Sun. July 9, 2020.
  4. News: Pistons purchase Suns' NBA G League team. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. GLeague.NBA.com. July 29, 2020. July 29, 2020.
  5. News: Detroit Pistons NBA G League Affiliate To Be Named 'Motor City Cruise'. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. GLeague.NBA.com . October 30, 2020. November 18, 2020.
  6. News: New Orleans Pelicans seeking fan input for G-League team name . December 10, 2020 . December 10, 2020.
  7. Web site: Dave . McMenamin . Sources: G League pushing forward; eyeing reduced bubble, shortened season . ESPN . December 17, 2020. December 17, 2020.
  8. Web site: Ignite Team Featuring Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga Among 18 Teams Expected To Participate In G League Bubble. Forbes . December 24, 2020 . December 24, 2020.
  9. Web site: NBA G League to begin 2020-21 season in February at Disney World bubble, per report . . December 29, 2020.
  10. Web site: NBA G League To Begin Play at Disney In February . NBA G League . January 8, 2021.
  11. Web site: NBA G-LEAGUE ANUNCIA EL INICIO DE SU TEMPORADA 2021 CAPITANES DEBUTARÁ EN LA SIGUIENTE TEMPORADA(2021-2022) . Capitanes . January 8, 2021.
  12. Web site: NBA G League Tips off February 10 at Disney . OurSports Central . January 27, 2021.
  13. Web site: Delaware Blue Coats' Paul Reed Named 2020-21 NBA G League Most Valuable Player And Rookie Of The Year. live. November 19, 2021. NBA G League. https://web.archive.org/web/20210322212134/https://gleague.nba.com/news/delaware-blue-coats-paul-reed-named-2020-21-nba-g-league-most-valuable-player-and-rookie-of-the-year/ . 2021-03-22 .
  14. Web site: OKC Blue's Moses Brown named G League Player of the Week. live. November 19, 2021. USA Today. February 23, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210223231729/https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/2021/02/23/okc-blue-moses-brown-g-league-player-of-the-week/ . 2021-02-23 .
  15. Web site: Kevin Porter Jr Named G League Player of the Week. live. November 19, 2021. NBA G League. https://web.archive.org/web/20210302180311/https://gleague.nba.com/news/kevin-porter-jr-named-g-league-player-of-the-week/ . 2021-03-02 .
  16. Web site: Player of the Week: Henry Ellenson. live. November 19, 2021. OurSportsCentral. March 8, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211120010553/https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/player-of-the-week-henry-ellenson/n-5672621 . 2021-11-20 .
  17. Web site: Hawks make Tori Miller first woman general manager in G League. live. October 25, 2021. NBA. https://web.archive.org/web/20210120014651/https://www.nba.com/news/hawks-make-tori-miller-first-woman-general-manager-g-league . 2021-01-20 .
  18. Web site: CAPITAL CITY NAMES AMBER NICHOLS GENERAL MANAGER. live. October 25, 2021. NBA G League. https://web.archive.org/web/20210116041431/https://capitalcity.gleague.nba.com/news/capital-city-names-amber-nichols-general-manager/ . 2021-01-16 .