It’s been just over a year since the NBA’s G League Ignite developmental basketball program was introduced to young aspiring NBA prospects, but it’s differentiated from college basketball in many aspects.
The one-year program was started as an alternative pathway to the NBA for elite basketball prospects rather than taking the collegiate route or playing overseas.
Young prospects are exposed to a professional environment as they learn from veteran players and coaches while competing against some of the best G League teams during the season. Going beyond basketball, the program provides financial literacy education, community service involvement, and scholarship opportunities, according to the NBA’s communications department.
Unlike college, the G League is offering salaries to the prospects of up to $500,000 depending on the terms of their contract. Going into the season the team was headlined by Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd, and Jonathan Kuminga, all of whom were top prospects in the 2020 recruiting class. The team also consisted of seasoned NBA veterans like Jarrett Jack and Amir Johnson, who not only mentored the young players but are attempting to revitalize their NBA careers.
The Ignite team played a total of 16 televised and streamed games, including their one playoff loss against Raptors 905 within the G League Bubble this year compared to the traditional 32-game season in college.
Although young prospects on the Ignite team got early experience playing against professional players, they missed out on the opportunities in college. Players like Jalen Suggs and Cade Cunningham took advantage of the ability to build their own brand throughout the season, March Madness, and within their respective college communities. The media and exposure that college basketball brings to its players is unlike any other as 7.6 million viewers tuned into March Madness this year.
Most high-major schools also played almost double the games that the Ignite team had, giving college athletes more opportunities to rise up draft boards.
“I know for a fact if I went to college it woulda been a different talk about who goin number 1,” said Green of the Ignite team in a deleted tweet.
Currently on ESPN’s draft board Green ranks No. 4 among NBA prospects as his Ignite teammate Kuminga comes in at the No. 5 spot. The top 3 available players on that same board are Cunningham, Suggs, and Evan Mobley, all of whom took the collegiate route and played in March Madness.
Whether or not the NBA G-League Ignite program has prepared its young players for the next level is still to be determined, but the opportunity for players could change the landscape of the NCAA.
