The NBA’s G League is their official minor league association. The G League doesn’t get too much attention in the media, but behind the scenes it’s more accomplished and entertaining than one may assume. In recent years, G League basketball has actually become comparable to NCAA D1 teams. Players with hopes of playing in the NBA understand that college is no longer the only route to that dream – players can choose what works best for them.
Watching G League basketball provides fans with a unique opportunity. College basketball teams draw massive crowds of loud, dedicated fans, and boasts players already used to the limelight. The G League offers all of the professionalism, and none of the glamour. But when you watch a G League game, you may be one of the first people to notice a player who will become a household name in the NBA within a few years.
Pascal Siakam is a great example of this situation. Siakam moved to the United States from Cameroon at the age of eighteen, which is when he played organized basketball for the first time. Though Siakam played college ball for New Mexico State University, and excelled there for two years, you couldn’t call him famous yet. Siakam was drafted by the Toronto Raptors in 2016, then assigned to their G League team, Raptors 905. Siakam improved and showcased his skills here, helping the team win the G League Championship and becoming the Finals MVP.
Two seasons after playing in the G League, Siakam and the Raptors won an NBA Championship. Siakam then became the first G League alum to start in an NBA All-Star Game.
With the new G League Professional Path program, the G League is getting even more buzz. You could say a bit of flair is being added to the league. According to Sports Illustrated, contracts worth $125,000 are “meant to accommodate those players and offer a viable alternative to playing college basketball. These 18-year-old prospects would spend a year on a G League roster, then be eligible for entry into the NBA draft, where their rights would make them available to all 30 teams,” (Woo).
Jalen Green, the number one shooting guard and number one recruit of the 2020 recruiting class, chose this path over his offers from the best college basketball teams in the country. Green signed a one-year deal with the G League team Ignite for $600,000. He now starts for the Houston Rockets. With more deals like this to come, it will be interesting to see how the G League changes in terms of popularity and stardom.
Offering promotions with G League teams will target hometown fans who attend games for the love of basketball itself, for the love of sportsmanship and the competitive atmosphere. And with the league’s certain increase in high-profile players, new fans are sure to join them. SCA Promotions offers countless promotional opportunities for basketball endeavors, including half-court shot contests, bracket prediction contests and conditional rebates.
Learn more about SCA’s basketball options here.
