NBA News: It has been nearly four years since the NBA G League Ignite program was launched. As it turns out, however, this experiment has come to the end of the road.
This is after the NBA officially announced on Thursday that they have decided to pull the plug on the Ignite program after the end of this G League season.
NBA News: NBA G Leaugue Ignite Program to Get Shut Down
In an official press release published via NBA.com, the league announced its rather surprising decision on this being the final season of the Ignite program:
“NBA G League Ignite, the league’s owned-and-operated team focused on developing NBA prospects, is concluding its final season, NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced today. The decision to end the program comes amid the changing basketball landscape, including the NCAA’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policy and the advent of collectives and the transfer portal,” read the statement.
The Ignite program has not delivered the desired results this season, in particular, with the squad currently dead last in the standings with a horrendous 2-28 record. Surely, the decision to put an end to this program was influenced by how terribly this team has performed this season.
Be that as it may, the Ignite program boasts at least a handful of alumni who have found tremendous success in the NBA. This includes the Houston Rockets’ Jalen Green (No. 2 pick in 2021), Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors (deemed the future face of the Dubs franchise), and rookie Scoot Henderson (No. 3 pick in 2023).
G-League Ignite players in the NBA:
Jalen — 19.1 PPG | 5.0 RPG | 2.3 3P
Kuminga — 16.4 PPG | 4.7 RPG | 53.4 FG%
Scoot — 12.7 PPG | 4.7 APG | 1.2 3PMFailed experiment? pic.twitter.com/CvTPQmFOo3
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 21, 2024
G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim shed some light on the decision to pull the plug on the program as he pointed to the “changing environment” in basketball as the main reason behind the move:
“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,” said Abdur-Rahim. “With the changing environment across youth and collegiate basketball, now is the right time to take this step. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to general manager Anthony McClish, head coach Jason Hart and their staff and to each player who wore an Ignite jersey. As ever, the G League’s commitment to developing top NBA talent and helping players achieve their NBA dreams is unwavering.”
For More NBA Content:
Follow me on Twitter at @PaoloSongcoNBA, and follow us @HardwoodHeroics. You can also reach out to Paolo Songco via email at [email protected]. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest NBA news, click here!
