Seven former Wildcats make up NBA G League Bubble rosters

Seven former Kentucky players will have a unique opportunity to win a G League championship down in Orlando in the coming weeks.

Like the NBA last summer, the G League is bringing 18 total teams – 17 official NBA G League teams and the new G League Ignite team – to Orlando to form a sealed bubble and play a complete regular season. The league will feature 15 regular season games from Feb. 10 through March 6, with an eight-team, single-elimination playoff set to begin March 8 and conclude with a championship game on March 11.

Among the participants? Seven players from recent Kentucky rosters spread across four teams.

Greensboro Swarm

• Nick Richards (2017-20)
• Kahlil Whitney (2019-20)

Iowa Wolves

• Ashton Hagans (2018-20)

Long Island Nets

• Nate Sestina (2019-20)

Canton Charge

• Charles Matthews (2015-16)

Westchester Knicks

• Skal Labissiere (2015-16)
• James Young (2013-14)

The league will also feature the brand new NBA G League Ignite team, which signed four 5-star recruits and one 4-star prospect in the class of 2020 to contracts, all of which receiving prior offers and/or interest from John Calipari and the Kentucky basketball program.

Due to the unique circumstances, the G League Ignite team will be able to compete for a league championship, a change from the original plans the league had for the young roster — using the year to train and play exhibition games to develop leading up to the 2021 NBA Draft.

The key standouts with prior Kentucky ties:

NBA G League Ignite Roster

• Jalen Green
• Jonathan Kuminga
• Daishen Nix
• Isaiah Todd
• Kai Sotto

Other names of note in the G League Bubble:

• Jay Scrubb (former Louisville commit, Agua Caliente Clippers)
• Emmitt Williams (LSU, Agua Caliente Clippers)
• Quinndary Weatherspoon (Mississippi State, Austin Spurs)
• Antonio Blakeney (LSU, Canton Charge)
• Michael Frazier II (Florida, Delaware Blue Coats)
• Frank Mason (Kansas, Delaware Blue Coats)
• Brian Bowen II (Louisville*, Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
• Cassius Stanley (Duke, Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
• Vernon Carey (Duke, Greensboro Swarm)
• Admiral Schofield (Tennessee, Greensboro Swarm)
• Jaylen Johnson (Louisville, Iowa Wolves)
• Jordan Bone (Tennessee, Lakeland Magic)
• Chris Chiozza (Florida, Long Island Nets)
• Moses Brown (UCLA, OKC Blue)
• Nik Stauskas (Michigan, Raptors 905)
• Ray Spalding (Louisville, RGV Vipers)
• Mason Jones (Arkansas, RGV Vipers)
• Yogi Ferrell (Indiana, SLC Stars)
• Nico Mannion (Arizona, Santa Cruz Warriors)
• Kaleb Wesson (Ohio State, Santa Cruz Warriors)
• Jared Harper (Auburn, Westchester Knicks)
• Bryce Brown (Auburn, Westchester Knicks)
• Simi Shittu (Vanderbilt, Westchester Knicks)
• Myles Powell (Seton Hall, Westchester Knicks)
• Theo Pinson (North Carolina, Westchester Knicks)
• Dennis Smith Jr. (NC State, Westchester Knicks)

Games will be broadcast on NBA TV, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+ and Twitch.

To view the full schedule and broadcasting details, click here.