The Pioneer Baseball League is a professional baseball league based in the Western United States. It operates as one of four Major League Baseball (MLB) Partner Leagues in the American independent baseball league system without MLB team affiliations. The league is contested by twelve teams from the Northern California and Rocky Mountains regions, who play a regular season split into two halves. The top two teams at the end of each half qualify for a postseason tournament that determines the overall champion.
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association (ABA) but changed their name to the Rockets before the first season. The Rockets then changed their name again to the Nuggets in 1974. After the name change, the Nuggets played for the final ABA Championship title in 1976, losing to the New York Nets.
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the team has played its home games at the Delta Center.
The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and is affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 season. The Sioux Falls Skyforce are the longest-running minor-league basketball team in the United States.
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 2023–24 season, the league consists of 31 teams, 29 of which are either single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team, along with the NBA G League Ignite exhibition team, which was folded by the league at the end of the season. Within the G League, players have the chance to get a contract from a current NBA team, and can land themselves a spot on an official roster.
The Maverik Center, originally known as the E Center, is a 12,600-seat multi-purpose indoor arena located in West Valley City, Utah, United States. Construction on the arena started in 1996 and was completed in time to hold its first event on September 22, 1997. The arena is owned by West Valley City, and managed by Centennial Management Group. During the 2002 Winter Olympics it served as the main venue for the ice hockey events, and as the venue for ice sledge hockey during the 2002 Winter Paralympics. Today the arena is home to the Utah Grizzlies along with the Salt Lake City Stars, and it is also a major venue in the area for numerous concerts and live touring productions.
The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Los Angeles. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise to own a D-League team. At the conclusion of the 2016–17 D-League season, the D-Fenders re-branded as the South Bay Lakers for the G League. They also moved their home games from the Toyota Sports Center into the UCLA Health Training Center, a new practice facility for the Los Angeles Lakers in El Segundo.
The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 1994 to 2011. Teams played approximately 50 games in the regular season schedule, mimicking what players would experience at the collegiate level. As of January 2022, there are no active teams in the league following the creation of the Can-Am Junior Hockey League by former WSHL teams.
The Delta Center is an indoor venue in Salt Lake City. Opened in 1991, the arena is the home of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Utah Hockey Club of the National Hockey League (NHL). Over the years, it has also hosted other professional sports teams including the Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League and the Utah Starzz of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). With a seating capacity of 18,306 for basketball, up to 16,200 for ice hockey and indoor football, and 20,000 for concerts, the arena offers space for many kinds of events. It has 56 luxury suites and 668 club seats. During the 2002 Winter Olympics, the arena hosted figure skating and short-track speed skating competitions under the name "Salt Lake Ice Center".
The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware, and are affiliated with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The team was founded in 2007 as the Utah Flash and served as an affiliate to the Utah Jazz. In April 2013, the 76ers acquired the team and relocated it to Delaware, where it played as the Delaware 87ers until 2018. The team moved to the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2018 and were rebranded as the Delaware Blue Coats. As with the Sixers, the Blue Coats are owned by Josh Harris and David Blitzer under Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE). The team won the 2022–23 G League championship.
The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season lineups, including rookie, sophomore and G League affiliate players. The current NBA Summer League also features the California Classic and Salt Lake City Summer League in addition to the Las Vegas Summer League.
The Stockton Kings are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Stockton, California, and are affiliated with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings play their home games at the Stockton Arena and compete in the G League's Western Conference Pacific Division.
The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team plays its home games at Public Auditorium in downtown Cleveland.
William Denard Barton III is an American professional basketball player for the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for Memphis, where he was named the Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2012. He was selected 40th overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and played for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA G League before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in 2015, where he eventually became their franchise leader in three-pointers made.
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.
Karen Gail Miller, is an American businesswoman. Following the death of her husband, Larry H. Miller, she assumed the role of chairwoman of the Larry H. Miller Group (LHM) of Companies, now known as the Larry H. Miller Company (LHMCO). From 2009 until the sale of the team in 2020, she maintained a majority interest in the Utah Jazz, a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise located in Salt Lake City, Utah. As of 2023, she continues to retain a minority stake in the team and its associated businesses. Miller is a major supporter of Big League Utah, a campaign to bring a Major League Baseball team to Utah. She engages in philanthropy through her family foundation.
The Osceola Magic are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Kissimmee, Florida, and are affiliated with the Orlando Magic. The Magic began play in the 2017–18 season as the Lakeland Magic, and now play their home games at the Silver Spurs Arena.
The San Diego Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Oceanside, California, that competes in the NBA G League. The Clippers began play in the 2017–18 season. The team plays their home games at Frontwave Arena. The Clippers are the affiliate team of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Los Angeles Clippers.
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.
