The NBA is shutting down the G League Ignite following the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. The Ignite, which…
The NBA is shutting down the G League Ignite team after this season, canceling the development squad of elite draft prospects and veterans that was launched in 2020, sources briefed on the matter tell The Athletic.
The NBA launched the Ignite at a point when no other American pro league provided a path for pre-draft eligible players to be significantly compensated to play before entering the draft. With the rise of name, image and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal in college basketball, the need for the Ignite elite team was eliminated. Now, NIL allows players to earn money while going to college and receiving NCAA experience.
Personally, I think the Ignite team was a blazing success during its 4-year existence. Not only did they compensate the players financially, but also helped maintain the draft stock of top prospects like Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Scoot Henderson.
The only complaint I heard about the Ignite team was that from a player development standpoint it was crap compared to college programs. I can’t recall it in detail but something about both coaches and on the floor everyone was trying to do their own thing, there was no team development, and it didn’t serve those players well in the NBA as the college guys were noticeably further along than them. Of course, that could in theory be fixed, as it did many good things as you mentioned
From the athletic article (not linked):
The NBA is shutting down the G League Ignite team after this season, canceling the development squad of elite draft prospects and veterans that was launched in 2020, sources briefed on the matter tell The Athletic.
The NBA launched the Ignite at a point when no other American pro league provided a path for pre-draft eligible players to be significantly compensated to play before entering the draft. With the rise of name, image and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal in college basketball, the need for the Ignite elite team was eliminated. Now, NIL allows players to earn money while going to college and receiving NCAA experience.
Personally, I think the Ignite team was a blazing success during its 4-year existence. Not only did they compensate the players financially, but also helped maintain the draft stock of top prospects like Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Scoot Henderson.
The only complaint I heard about the Ignite team was that from a player development standpoint it was crap compared to college programs. I can’t recall it in detail but something about both coaches and on the floor everyone was trying to do their own thing, there was no team development, and it didn’t serve those players well in the NBA as the college guys were noticeably further along than them. Of course, that could in theory be fixed, as it did many good things as you mentioned