What is the G League?
The NBA G League is the NBA’s official minor league. Each NBA team has their own G League affiliate, except the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trailblazers. However, there is a total of 30 teams due to the G League Ignite team (for top prospects looking to make the NBA) and the Mexico City Capitanes joining the league.
How is the G League season set up?
For the 2021-22 season, 29 teams including the G League Ignite and the Mexico City Capitals will start the season with a 12 game tournament, which culminates with 2 more games (for a total of 14) at the G League Showcase. The top 8 teams will compete for the G League Showcase Cup, while the other teams will still play the 2 games, just not for any extra prize. After the Showcase, the teams’ records reset and a 36 game regular season will take place. The Capitals will not take part in this 36 game regular season, and neither will the Ignite. However, the Ignite will play 10 games against G League opponents that do not count toward the other G League teams’ records.
The teams with the best record in each of the 6 divisions will automatically make the playoffs, while the other 6 spots will be filled by 3 teams per conference that have the best regular season records. The division winners are not guaranteed seeds, just a playoff spot. Out of the 6 teams that make the playoffs in each conference, 2 teams will be seeded based on best regular season record. These 2 teams will have byes in the first round. To decide the champion, there are 3 single elimination rounds, culminating in a best of 3 games, G League Finals.
Getting Called Up to the NBA
Any player on a standard G League contract may receive a call up at any point during the G League season by any NBA team. They can be signed to a standard NBA contract, a two way contract, or a 10 day contract. For a ten day contract, a player can sign 2 consecutive 10 day deals before either being signed for the rest of the season or being waived and returning to the G League.
Notable NBA call ups include Rudy Gobert, CJ McCollum, and Danny Green.
NBA G League Tracker 