NBA planning to shut down G League Ignite after 2023-24 season

The NBA has announced its plan to shut down G League Ignite, as The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported. The move would be effective at the end of this season.

G League Ignite launched in 2020 as way for players to forgo college in the year between high school and the NBA Draft, and some notable names participated alongside some veteran players. Future top draft picks such as Scoot Henderson, Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green were all products of Team Ignite. All told, the program produced 10 draft picks, including four who went in the top 10.

However, with NIL becoming a prominent part of the college sports landscape – meaning athletes could profit off their name, image and likeness – commissioner Adam Silver hinted at a looming decision about the future of the program. Salaries were believed to be as high as $1 million, Charania reported, including Henderson last year.

Now, the G League Ignite appears to be nearing its conclusion.

“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,” NBA G-League president Sharif Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. “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.”

At NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, Silver said the league was evaluating the future of Team Ignite as the college sports landscape changes.

“I think given that that’s happened, I think we are in the process of reassessing Team Ignite,” Silver said during NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis. “Now some of those same players who didn’t want to be one-and-done players because they felt it was unfair and they wanted the ability not just to earn a living playing basketball but to do commercial deals that weren’t available to them at college, to hire professional agents, an opportunity that wasn’t available to them at college – all of those same opportunities have become available to them [in college basketball].

“I’m not sure what the future of Team Ignite will be. Because before there was a hole in the marketplace that we thought we were filling before doing that, and now my focus is turning to earlier development of those players.”

The Ignite has struggled this year, currently sitting at a 6-40 record with the season finale coming up next week. However, two players – Matas Buzelis and former Texas signee Ron Holland – are projected to be top-10 picks in this year’s draft. In The Ringer’s mock draft earlier this month, Holland came in as the No. 5 overall selection and Buzelis sat a No. 6.

Although the expectation is Team Ignite will shut down, Overtime Elite is another option if top prospects opt to go away from the college route. However, nearly all of the top 50 recruits in the On3 Industry Ranking are either committed or signed to colleges.