At some point during this year’s postseason, San Antonio Spurs small forward Danny Green will be called upon to play some big minutes. The Los Angeles Clippers’ Bobby Simmons will be on the floor in the playoffs, too, playing power forward when the team goes with its small lineup. Should the New York Knicks get into the playoffs, it’s a near guarantee that Steve Novak will make a postseason 3-pointer, and, of course, Novak’s Knicks might not be in the playoff picture at all had it not been for the play of point guard Jeremy Lin, now out with a knee injury.
Green, Simmons, Novak and Lin have something in common—all four spent time last year playing for the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League. Now, they’re all getting ready to have prominent playoff roles.
“That’s the fun of this,” said Eric Musselman, who is coaching the D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders this season, but was the Reno coach last year. “When your get guys in, you want to help them work on what they need to work on to further their NBA careers, and it is great to see them go on to have success and appreciate the time and work you put in to help them. There were a lot of guys like that on that team. The talent level is something that you really have to watch it to appreciate it.”
Indeed, there are more and more players entering the NBA with D-League experience. In all, 107 NBA players, about a quarter of the league, have been in the D-League at some point. Despite a schedule cramped by the lockout, there have been a record 47 call-ups from the D-League to the NBA this year. And, as the example of the Reno alums show, these are not necessarily end-of-the-bench roster fillers. D-League players are assuming big roles—in last year’s Finals, for example, two starters (Dallas’ J.J. Barea and Miami’s Joel Anthony) had D-League backgrounds.
It’s been a slow climb to prominence for the D-League, which was founded in 2001 after the collapse of the Continental Basketball Association forced the NBA to address the problem of a lack of a minor league. In its first year, there were just eight D-League call ups—the league pays five-figure salaries, and among players and agents, it was a tough sell, especially with European clubs able to offer much better pay and very competitive leagues.
Problem is, playing in Europe takes a player off the NBA grid. In recent years, the D-League has been able to shed the stigma as a low-level league and draw players because of its proximity to NBA teams.
“That’s been something we can use to recruit players to our league,” said Dan Reed, the D-League’s president. “We look at it almost like going to graduate school. You are giving up some short-term benefit, you’re giving up more money in Europe.
“Players are embracing the idea of playing in the D-League in a way that they never have before. It is really a tribute to our past success. We have clearly demonstrated that we are the fastest way to the NBA if you are a player. It is a place where you can play the NBA game, you’re playing NBA rules, you’re playing in front of NBA scouts every night, you’re close by NBA teams, and you can showcase your talents and how you’ve improved your game in the closest environment to the NBA.”
It’s working. Simmons, a former NBA starter who entered the year with 437 games of experience, said he had richer offers to play in Europe but turned them down because he wanted to remain in the NBA orbit. More than that, Simmons said, playing in the D-League taught him something.
“It was a life-changing experience as far as basketball,” Simmons said. “Because you really don’t understand how hard those guys play night in and night out to be successful. It just gives you a different perspective on how lucky you are to be an NBA player.”
As it stands, the D-League has 16 teams. Of those 16, six are owned outright by NBA teams that run their operations entirely. Three are affiliated with teams in a “hybrid” model, similar to baseball’s minor-league affiliation system, where the NBA team runs the basketball operations but the team’s ownership takes care of day-to-day operations like ticket sales. The seven teams that are not owned by NBA teams are split among the league’s 21 other teams.
Eventually, Reed said, there could be 30 teams, with each NBA team having its own affiliate. But that’s in the distant future, and Reed said even though he expects more teams to buy into their own D-League affiliate, there are no plans for expansion.
“In the very long term, yes, I could see 30 D-League teams,” Reed said. “That is the direction our league is moving in. You can expect to see more single affiliations over time. We do see the league progressing that way, but we don’t have a hard and fast goal as far as when that should happen. We’re pleased with the trajectory we are on, and we’re just focusing on making sure we’re doing things right—that we’re getting players called up and that those players are contributing to their teams. That’s what is important to us, that we’re working within those metrics.”
Have a look at the postseason and, chances are, you’ll see the direct success the league has had in reaching those metrics this year.
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