NBA ends Ignite development team due to college changes

NEW YORK – The NBA's G-League Ignite, a league-owned team aimed at developing NBA talent, will be shut down next week, G-League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced on Thursday (Friday Manila time).

The Ignite, based in suburban Las Vegas, was created as an option for high school stars who did not want to spend a year in college programs before being able to join the NBA, giving them a chance to be paid, get endorsements and learn about the pro basketball lifestyle.

But changes in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules allowing players to make money off their name, image and likeness rights (NIL) and the ease of switching schools through creation of a "transfer portal" reduced the need for what Ignite had to offer.

The team, launched in April 2020 to ease the path to the NBA Draft, will play its final game next Thursday against the Ontario Clippers.

In three campaigns, the Ignite developed 10 players that were taken in the NBA Draft, four of them top-10 selections,

"Four years ago, we started Ignite to fill a void in the basketball landscape, and I'm proud of the contributions we were able to make to that ecosystem," Abdur-Rahim said.

"With the changing environment across youth and collegiate basketball, now is the right time to take this step."

Nine former Ignite players are in the NBA, including Houston's Jalen Green, Portland's Scoot Henderson and Golden State's Jonathan Kuminga, a forward born in the Democratic Republic of Congo who won an NBA title with the Warriors in 2022.