The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at the Smoothie King Center.
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States from 1946 to 2009.
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the official minor league organization of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Development League from 2005 until 2017. The league started with eight teams until NBA commissioner David Stern announced a plan to expand the NBA D-League to 15 teams and develop it into a true minor league farm system, with each NBA D-League team affiliated with one or more NBA teams in March 2005. At the conclusion of the 2013–14 NBA season, 33% of NBA players had spent time in the NBA D-League, up from 23% in 2011. As of the 2024–25 season, the league consists of 31 teams, 30 of which are either single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team, along with the Mexico City Capitanes independent team. Within the G League, players can get a contract from an NBA team and land themselves an official roster spot.
The Fayetteville Patriots were an NBA Development League team based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States.
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 Greenville Groove were a National Basketball Development League (NBDL) team based in Greenville, South Carolina. Playing their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, the Groove was a charter franchise of the league, which had four teams based in the Carolinas. They were the league champions for the inaugural 2001–02 season but the team folded after the 2002–03 season.
Rick Apodaca is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. Apodaca has played in the NCAA, USBL, NBDL, and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with the Arecibo Captains, Bayamón Cowboys, San German Athletics and Leones de Ponce. He also played professional basketball in Poland, Italy and Turkey. Apodaca was a member of the senior Puerto Rican National Basketball Team that defeated the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
Devin LaVell Brown is an American former professional basketball shooting guard who played 8 seasons in the National Basketball Association. Brown won an NBA championship as a member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2005.
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.
Anthony Mark Johnson is an American former professional basketball player who last played with the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). At 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), he played the point guard position. He found success in pro basketball, becoming the first NBA D-League player to participate in an NBA Finals. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Johnson played college basketball at the College of Charleston and was drafted in the NBA in 1997.
Ime Sunday Udoka is a Nigerian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in the United States, he represented the Nigeria national team during his playing career. After retiring as a player, Udoka served as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, and Brooklyn Nets before becoming the head coach of the Boston Celtics, whom he led to the 2022 NBA Finals. After Udoka was suspended for the entire 2022–23 season for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a Celtics female employee, he was hired by the Rockets in April 2023.
Michael Sharod Wilks, Jr. is an American coach and former professional basketball player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Steve Deontay Logan is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Cincinnati Bearcats. He became a star point guard in his collegiate career, and was named a first team All-American his senior year along with future NBA players Jay Williams, Juan Dixon, Drew Gooden, and Dan Dickau.
Shea Brandon Seals is an American former professional basketball player. He played in four games during the 1997–98 NBA season as a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Mobile, Alabama is home to many different sports teams and events. It is also home to several notable athletes.
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.
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.
