| NBA G League awards and honors |
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| Championship |
| Individual awards |
| Honors |
The NBA G League Finals is the championship game or series for the NBA G League and the conclusion of the league's postseason. The league was previously known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005 and the National Basketball Association Development League (NBA D-League) from 2005 to 2017.
Since the league's inception in 2001–02, a variety of formats has been used to determine the champion. From the inaugural postseason in 2002 until 2006, the four teams with the best records advanced to the postseason. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] In the first two seasons, both the semifinal round and the Finals were held in a best-of-three format. [1] [2] Then, between 2004 and 2007, the playoffs used a single-elimination tournament among the four teams, with two semifinal games and one winner-take-all championship match. [3] [4] [5] [6]
In 2007, the league expanded to twelve teams and was divided into Eastern and Western Conferences, comprising six teams each. [6] All playoff rounds were one game each, ending with the Eastern Conference's Dakota Wizards winning the championship 129–121 in overtime against the Colorado 14ers. [6] The best-of-three format for the Finals returned in 2008. [6] [7] [8] [9] With the league's continued expansion to fourteen teams in 2008 and sixteen teams in 2009, the two-conference format was replaced with a three-division format consisting of Western, Southwestern and Central Divisions. [7] [8] Both the 2008 and 2009 NBADL championship series were between teams representing the Western and Southwestern Divisions, with no Central teams making it to the finals. [7] [8] The 2009–10 season saw a reformatting to having Eastern and Western Conferences, with the 2012–13 season being the only one with a third conference named as the Central and the 2013–14 season having just Divisions rather than conferences. Due to there being two more teams in the Western Conference (nine) than the Eastern Conference (seven), and because the top eight teams with the best regular season records qualified for the postseason irrespective of conference, the 2010 and 2012 NBADL Finals consisted of two Western Conference teams. [9] Finally, in the 2014–15 season, the playoff structure was changed so the teams were separated by conference in seeding. The 2021 edition of the Finals was a one-game match, which equaled the number of games played for the other playoff rounds as played by the eight teams that were seeded solely by record. The league returned to the best-of-three format for the Finals in 2022.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers lead the league in championship appearances (seven) and championships (four).
| Bold | Winning team of the Finals |
| † | Had or tied for the best regular season record for that season |
| Team (X) | Denotes the number of times the team has won (also includes past names of franchise, if applicable) |
Alexander English is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and businessman.
The Dakota Wizards were an American professional basketball team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. They played in the NBA Development League from 2006 until 2012. After the 2011–12 season, the team relocated to Santa Cruz, California, and now plays as the Santa Cruz Warriors. Prior to entering the D-League in 2006, the Wizards spent 11 years playing in minor American leagues such as the International Basketball Association (IBA) and the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the minor league organization of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, all are single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team except for the independent Mexico City Capitanes.
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the original Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1976–77, though under the same name until 1984.
The Fort Worth Flyers were a minor league basketball team in the NBA Development League (D-League) based in Fort Worth, Texas. They began play in the 2005–06 season and were shut down for the 2007–08 season.
The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue compete in the NBA G League as members of the Western Conference. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center, an arena shared with the Thunder.
The Austin Spurs are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the postseason in 8 out of 14 seasons in the NBA Development League.
Edward Gill III is an American former professional basketball player. Gill was born played college basketball at the College of Eastern Utah, Salt Lake Community College, and Weber State University. With the Weber State Wildcats, Gill was MVP of the 1999 Big Sky Conference tournament.
Billy Thomas is an American former professional basketball player who competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and several other leagues. A 6'5" tall shooting guard from Shreveport, Louisiana, he last played with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League. Billy Thomas is now the basketball head coach of Rockhurst High School
Manuel Narvaez is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. He has played in the NBDL, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with Santurce Crabbers, Coamo Marathon Runners, Ponce Lions, Bayamón Cowboys, Morovis Titans, and the Isabela Gallitos. Narvaez was drafted by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds with the 1st pick of the fourth round of the 2006 NBDL draft. He was a member of the 2006 and 2007 Puerto Rican National Team.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs is the annual elimination tournament held to determine the league champion. The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the league's regular season and its preliminary postseason tournament, the NBA play-in tournament. Six teams from each of the two conferences automatically advance to the playoffs based on regular season winning percentage, while those teams finishing seven through 10 from each conference compete in the play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds.
The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14ers in 2006, before relocating to Frisco in 2009 and becoming the Texas Legends for the 2010–11 season.
The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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 2006 NBA Development League expansion draft was the first expansion draft of the National Basketball Association Development League (NBADL). The draft was held on September 19, 2006, so that the newly founded Colorado 14ers, Bakersfield Jam, Anaheim Arsenal and Los Angeles D-Fenders could acquire players for the upcoming 2006–07 season. An independent agency conducted a random drawing to determine the selection order. Colorado was awarded the first overall pick, followed by Bakersfield, Anaheim and Los Angeles. The expansion draft was conducted via conference call from the NBA Development League's main office, and it drew from a pool comprising 44 players who had played in the D-League the season before but who were not currently on D-League rosters. Regarding the inaugural expansion draft, Senior Director of Basketball Operations and Player Personnel Chris Alpert said, "The Expansion Draft is an effort to give new teams an equal footing in regard to rights to returning players. The league will sign up to four players from season-ending rosters of returning teams, so this levels the playing field somewhat heading into the regular Draft."
Rashad Keith Phillips is an American former professional basketball player. At a height of 5'9 1⁄4" tall, and a weight of 170 pounds, he played at the guard position.
The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to the move to Santa Cruz for the 2012–13 season, the team was known as the Dakota Wizards. The team has won a championship in each of three leagues it has been a part of, and they are the only NBA G League team to reach the championship in three consecutive seasons.
Sedric Webber, sometimes misspelled as Cedric Webber, is an American retired professional basketball player. He played the small forward position for a career that spanned between 1999 and 2006 in which he played in numerous countries and leagues. Webber was also a standout college player for the College of Charleston (CofC) between 1995 and 1999.
The 2021–22 NBA G League season was the 21st season of the NBA G League, the official minor league basketball organization owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA). The prior season, the league played a shortened season with 18 teams and all games were held at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida, in similar to the 2020 NBA Bubble due to the ongoing restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021–22 season consisted of two phases: a Showcase Cup from November 5 to December 22, with all 30 teams participating before 28 of the league teams underwent a traditional regular season intended to span 36 games for each team from January 5 to April 2 before postseason. Untimely postponements, however, would lead to a varying level of games played before the end of the season, which meant roughly 31-35 games were played by each team.
| Eastern Conference | |
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| Western Conference | |
