NBA D-League renamed to ‘G League’ amid partnership with Gatorade

MANILA, Philippines – The NBA and Gatorade announced Wednesday that the NBA Development League—the NBA’s minor league—will officially become the "NBA G League."

Beginning with the 2017-18 season, the G League will feature 26 teams, an expansion of four teams since last season, 22 of which are owned and operated by NBA franchises.  

“This is a pivotal moment for the NBA G League,” said NBA G League President Malcolm Turner.  “The league is experiencing unprecedented success both on and off the court, and our partnership with Gatorade is helping to drive momentum and create exciting opportunities for innovation, sports performance and player development.”

For the first time this season, NBA teams can sign up to two “two-way” players to NBA contracts.  These contracts allow “two-way” players to be with their NBA parent team for up to 45 days, spending most of the season in the NBA G League.

Forty-four percent of players on 2016-17 end-of-season NBA rosters had NBA G League experience, while 65 percent of players selected in last year's NBA draft spent time in the NBA G League last season, including more than half of the first-round picks. 

To support the launch, the G League debuted its new website, NBAGLeague.com, an updated app, a slate of updated social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, and a new official handle (@nbagleague) and hashtag (#NBAGLeague).  Additionally, league merchandise is now available at NBAGLeagueStore.com.
 

Gatorade was a founding partner of the league, dating to the inaugural 2001-02 season.