TRENDING: NBA to shut down G League Ignite after this season.

Sources briefed on the situation told The Athletic on Thursday that the NBA is discontinuing the G League Ignite franchise after this season, along with the development squad of elite draft prospects and veterans that was started in 2020. The league later in the day confirmed the decision.

At a time when no other American professional league offered pre-draft eligible players a way to be heavily compensated to play before going into the draft, the NBA introduced the Ignite. The Ignite elite team was no longer necessary with the emergence of name, image, and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal in college basketball. Players can now make money while attending college and gaining NCAA experience thanks to NIL.

At All-Star Weekend last month, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated that Ignite’s future was being reevaluated.

“I’m uncertain about Team Ignite’s future as we felt there was a gap in the market that we were covering previously,” Silver remarked. “Now, I’m concentrating on those players’ early development.”

The first two signings in the league, Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors and Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets, who are ranked No. 2 and No. 7 in the 2021 NBA Draft, respectively, are amazing success stories and validation of the Ignite’s four-year journey. Following a stellar Ignite season, Scoot Henderson went No. 3 overall to Portland the previous year. Elite talents, like Henderson, may have received compensation of up to $1 million a season, according to rumors.

The Ignite has produced four top-10 picks and over ten draft selections since 2020. Over the course of four years, reputable former NBA players and coaches Brian Shaw and Jason Hart were appointed as the program’s head coaches by G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who also controlled the Ignite’s coaching staff and roster.

With a 6-40 record this season, the Ignite have struggled; nonetheless, prospects Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland are expected to be selected in the lottery of June’s draft. The final game of Ignite is set for March 28.

“I’m proud of the contributions we were able to make to that ecosystem, and we started Ignite to fill a void in the basketball landscape four years ago,” Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. Now is the ideal moment to take this action because of the shifting landscape for both youth and collegiate basketball. I would want to express my profound appreciation to head coach Jason Hart, general manager Anthony McClish, and their team, as well as to every player that put on an Ignite jersey. The G League remains steadfast in its dedication to nurturing elite NBA talent and assisting players in realizing their NBA aspirations.