The Fayetteville Patriots were an NBA Development League team based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States. Its logo design features a bald eagle's head and a basketball in the middle of a capital letter "P" with stars and stripes filling the rest of it.
The Roanoke Dazzle were an NBA Development League team based in Roanoke, Virginia, U.S. In operation from the inaugural D-League season of 2001–02 through the 2005–06 season, the Dazzle marked the return of professional basketball to Roanoke since the Virginia Squires called Roanoke home in the 1970s. Playing their home games at the Roanoke Civic Center, their logo design featured a star moving on rail tracks around a basketball.
The Mobile Revelers were a National Basketball Development League (NBDL) team based in Mobile, Alabama. Playing their home games at the Mobile Civic Center, the Revelers was a charter franchise in the 2001-02 season and folded after the 2002-03 season. The team was named after the people who took part in Mardi Gras parades as the Mardi Gras tradition started in Mobile.
Bon Secours Wellness Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Greenville, South Carolina. The arena serves as the home of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL.
The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center. The franchise began as the Asheville Altitude in 2001, before moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2005 and becoming the Tulsa 66ers. After nine seasons in Tulsa, the franchise moved to Oklahoma City in 2014 and were subsequently renamed the Oklahoma City Blue. As the Altitude, they reached the Finals of the NBA G League in 2003 and 2004, winning in both years. They were the first team to reach the championship in consecutive years and as of 2022 are the only NBA G League team to win consecutive championships in history.
Jackie Kameron Manuel is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the Director of Player Personnel, Development and Recruiting Operations for the North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Milton David Barnes is an American basketball coach who was the former head coach of the U.S. Virgin Islands national basketball team.
Wayne Monte "Tree" Rollins is an American former professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Orlando Magic.
Arthur James "A. J." Guyton is an American former professional basketball player and now basketball coach. He played college basketball for Indiana University.
Ansu Martin Sesay, Jr. is an American former professional basketball player.
Stephanie Ready is an American broadcaster for NBA on TNT and was formerly a broadcaster for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Charlotte Hornets. Prior to her broadcasting career, she was a basketball coach and gained recognition as the first female coach of a men's professional league team in 2001. After a stint as a head coach at the NBA Development League, she was a part of Hornets’ broadcasts for over a decade, including a stint as the first full-time female NBA game analyst.
John Lewis Linehan is an American former professional basketball player and currently an assistant basketball coach for the Saint Joseph's Hawks. At 5'9" and 165 lbs., he played at the point guard position. He was nicknamed, "Le Virus".
The 2001–02 NBDL season was the inaugural season for the National Basketball Development League. The league started with eight teams: Asheville Altitude, Columbus Riverdragons, Fayetteville Patriots, Greenville Groove, Huntsville Flight, Mobile Revelers, North Charleston Lowgators and Roanoke Dazzle. The season ended with the Groove defeating the Lowgators 2–0 in the best-of-three Finals series to win the inaugural NBDL championship.
The 2001 NBDL Supplemental Draft was a supplemental draft for the newly formed National Basketball Association Development League. It was held on November 3, 2001, before the league's inaugural 2001–02 season, and took place two days after the 2001 NBDL Draft. The supplemental draft was a one-time occurrence designed to fill out the league's rosters and to ensure competitive play. In this draft, all eight of the league's charter teams took turns selecting available recent college graduates, semi-professional and/or professional players. The draft consisted of four rounds of eight selections each, but there were five instances of a team passing on their draft selection. In all, 27 players were drafted out of 32 possible selections; the Huntsville Flight and Fayetteville Patriots passed on two players apiece, while the Columbus Riverdragons passed on one.
The 2001 NBDL Draft was the inaugural draft of the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), which was later renamed the NBA Development League (NBADL). The draft was held on November 1, 2001 before the 2001–02 season. In this draft, the league's eight charter teams took turns selecting players who had all competed at the college level in the United States at some point.
The NBA G League Defensive Player of the Year is an annual NBA G League award given since the league's inaugural season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The league's head coaches determine the award by voting and it is usually presented to the honoree during the D-League playoffs.
The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim Arsenal in 2006, before relocating to Springfield, Massachusetts, in 2009, becoming the Springfield Armor. After five seasons in Springfield, the franchise moved to Grand Rapids in 2014 and were subsequently renamed the Grand Rapids Drive, before changing their name again to the Gold in 2021.
Greenville Triumph SC is a professional soccer team based in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. The club began play in USL League One in 2019.
Jeff Myers is an American retired basketball player. During college, Myers primarily played for the Drexel Dragons men's basketball between 1994 and 1997. After graduation, he played in the United States Basketball League and the Continental Basketball Association before joining the National Basketball Development League. With the NBDL, Myers played for the Greenville Groove from 2001 to 2003 and the Columbus Riverdragons from 2003 to 2005. While with the Groove, he won the first ever NBA G League Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2002.
