| 2010–11 NBA Development League season | |
|---|---|
| League | NBA Development League |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | November 18, 2010 – April 29, 2011 |
| Total attendance | 1,125,583 |
| TV partner(s) | Versus,NBA TV |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Nick Fazekas |
| Picked by | Reno Bighorns |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Iowa Energy |
| SeasonMVP | Curtis Stinson (Iowa Energy) |
| Top scorer | Trey Johnson (Bakersfield Jam) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Iowa Energy |
| Runners-up | Rio Grande Valley Vipers |
| NBA Development League seasons | |
The2010–11 NBA Development League season was the tenth season of theNBA Development League (NBA D-League). The NBA D-League is the officialminor leaguebasketball organization owned and run by theNational Basketball Association (NBA). The league was formed in 2001 as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL). The league adopted the "NBA D-League" name in 2005 to reflect its close affiliation with the NBA (a name it retained until 2017, when it was renamed theNBA G League). Oneexpansion franchise, theTexas Legends, joined the 15 returning teams from theprevious season.
The season started with the2010 NBA Development League Draft, which was held on November 1, 2010. Former NBA second-round draft pickNick Fazekas was selectedfirst overall by theReno Bighorns. The regular season began on November 18, 2010, and ended on April 4, 2011. TheIowa Energy had the best regular season record with 37 wins and 13 losses. They also won the Eastern Conference, while theReno Bighorns won the Western Conference with the second-best regular season record with 34 wins and 16 losses. The regular season set a new record on total attendance of 1,125,583, a 7.9% increase from the previous season.[1]
The playoffs started on April 6, 2011. The first seed, the Iowa Energy, defeated theUtah Flash and the Tulsa 66ers in the first and second round consecutively. The defending championRio Grande Valley Vipers, who was seeded third, defeated theBakersfield Jam and the Reno Bighorns in the first and second round respectively. The Energy and the Vipers face each other in the 2011 NBA D-League Finals that was started on April 24, 2011. The Energy won the first game 123–106, while the Vipers won the second game 141–122 to even the series. On April 29, 2011, the Energy won the decisive Game Three to win their first ever championship.
On July 6, 2010, the league announced the affiliation system for the season. TheAustin Toros and theTulsa 66ers, which is owned by theSan Antonio Spurs and theOklahoma City Thunder respectively, continued their single-affiliation partnerships with their parent teams. TheHouston Rockets also continued their single-affiliation partnership with theRio Grande Valley Vipers. TheTexas Legends, who is owned byDallas Mavericks' General ManagerDonnie Nelson, also began a single-affiliation partnership with the Mavericks. The other 12 teams were affiliated with at least two NBA teams each. Due to several team changes above and other circumstances, some affiliation changes occurred.[6]
An NBA D-League team roster consists of draftees, returning, allocation and tryout players. In addition, NBA teams can assign players who are on their first or second NBA season to their D-League affiliates. The roster must consist of 10 D-League players, but the maximum roster size is 12 players, including NBA assignees. If a team had more than two NBA assignees, the team must reduce its roster to avoid having more than 12 players. In the D-League, all players sign a one-year NBA D-League Standard Player Contract with the league, not with the specific D-League teams.[21]
Returning players are players who played in the league during the previous season and are retained by their respective teams. The D-League teams are allowed to invite a limited number of returning players. Players who signed a D-League contract but are not retained by their previous teams are placed on the draft pool, along with new players who also sign with the league.[22] Tryout players are the players who are invited to join the D-League team from the open tryouts which are held by each teams in October, before the season began.[21]
Beginning this season, the league implements a new allocation players rule. In the past, the teams are awarded allocation players, who are usually players with significant local or player appeal to that market.[21] The allocation rule was replaced to accommodate the new allocation rule which involves the NBA affiliates of the D-League teams. In the new rule, up to three players cut last from the NBA teams roster prior to the draft, will be allocated to their D-League affiliates, if they sign the standard D-League contract. The new rule increased the bond between the NBA teams and their D-League affiliates, while sacrificing the marketing effect from local allocation players.[23]
On October 30, 2011, the league announces the returning, allocation and tryout players for the 16 teams. Several players with NBA experience who returned to their previous teams areJamesOn Curry,Reece Gaines,Orien Greene,Steven Hill,Chris Hunter,Cedric Jackson,Othyus Jeffers,Dontell Jefferson,Trey Johnson,Renaldo Major,Chris McCray,Courtney Sims andMario West. D-League All-StarsWalker Russell Jr.,Mustafa Shakur andCurtis Stinson were also named on the returning players list.[24] The expansion franchiseTexas Legends earlier participated in anexpansion draft to acquire the rights to returning players of theLos Angeles D-Fenders, who would not take part in the 2010–11 season. The Legends selected 10 out of the 14 available players and two of them were later named in the returning players list for the Legends.[25]
The list of allocation players from the NBA teams includes several notable players such as former NBA playersThomas Gardner,Stéphane Lasme,Rashad McCants,Sean Williams andKyle Weaver.[24] McCants and Williams, who were NBA first-round draft picks, were intentionally signed by theDallas Mavericks towards the end of the training camp period and were waived on the day after, solely for the purpose of allocating them to theTexas Legends.[26][27] Similar situation occurred with NBA second-round draft pickTiny Gallon, who was waived by theBoston Celtics only two days after he was signed.[28][29] Gallon was then allocated to theMaine Red Claws.[24] The returning and allocation players were joined by the tryout players and the draftees for the training camp, where the players would compete for a place on the teams' 12-man roster.
The tenth annual NBA Development League Draft was held on November 1, 2010. In thisdraft, all 16 teams took turns selecting eligible players for their roster. Former NBA second-round draft pick,Nick Fazekas, was selectedfirst overall by theReno Bighorns. FormerCharlotte Bobcats player,Alan Anderson was selected second by theNew Mexico Thunderbirds.Magnum Rolle, the 51st pick in the2010 NBA draft was selected third by theMaine Red Claws. Other notable first-round picks are former NBA second-round draft picksRobert Vaden,Cheikh Samb andSalim Stoudamire.[30] In the second round, two former NBA draft picks,Walter Sharpe andAntonio Daniels, were selected. Daniels, who has played 12 seasons in the NBA since he was drafted fourth in the1997 NBA draft, was selected by theTexas Legends with the 29th pick.[31][32] A total of 128 players were selected in the eight-round draft.
During the 2010–11 season, an all-time high 39 NBA players were assigned to the D-League.[33] Out of the 39 players assigned, 18 are NBA first-round draft picks, 14 are NBA second-round draft picks, and 7 areundrafted players.[34][35]Hasheem Thabeet, the second overall pick in2009, was assigned to theRio Grande Valley Vipers for seven games in March and April.[36] He is the highest drafted NBA player to ever play in the D-League.[37] The sixth pick in the 2009 NBA Draft,Jonny Flynn, was assigned twice and played two games with theSioux Falls Skyforce.[38] He was assigned to the D-League for the purpose of rehabbing from a hip injury which required a surgery during the off-season.[39] Four other formerlottery picks,Terrence Williams,Cole Aldrich,Ed Davis andPatrick Patterson, were also assigned to the D-League.[1] Aldrich, Davis and Patterson are among the ten first-round draft picks from the2010 NBA draft who were assigned this season.[33][35] Out of the 27 players selected in the 2010 NBA Draft who played in the D-League this season, 22 of them were NBA assignees.[1][33][35]
2009 NBA first-round picks,Rodrigue Beaubois and Terrence Williams, both earned the distinction of being assigned to the D-League for unusual reasons. On November 30, 2010, Beaubois was assigned by theDallas Mavericks to theTexas Legends even though he was still inactive due to an injury suffered in the off-season and was not expected to return until January.[40] He was recalled in January without playing any game for the Legends as he was still injured during his whole stint with the Legends. At the time of his assignment, the Legends had seven former NBA first-round draft picks on their roster. Mavericks ownerMark Cuban stated that Beaubois was assigned for "marketing support" as the Legends is owned byDonnie Nelson who is also the Mavericks' general manager.[41] On the other hand, Williams was assigned to theSpringfield Armor after he was suspended by theNew Jersey Nets due to repeated violations of the team's policy.[42] Even though the Nets insists that the assignment is not a demotion, the move initiated an argument that Williams was punished by being demoted to the D-League.[43][44][45][46] He was recalled after playing three games with the Armor, where he averaged atriple-double.[47]
A call-up occurs when a player is signed by an NBA team. An NBA team is allowed to sign any D-League player as long as they are eligible to play in the NBA under the currentCollective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). However, an NBA team could not call-up a player whose draft rights are still held by other NBA teams. This rule applies for threeTulsa 66ers players,Ryan Reid,Robert Vaden andLatavious Williams, whose draft rights are still held by theOklahoma City Thunder, the NBA affiliate of the 66ers. A D-League player is usually signed to a 10-day contracts, a short-term contract which lasted ten days and are available to be used starting January 5. A player can only sign two 10-day contracts with the same team in one season. If the team want to retain the player after the second 10-day contract expired, the team has to sign the player for the remainder of the season.[48]
During the season, there were 27 call-ups involving 20 different players.[49] Seven players earned multiple call-ups to more than one NBA team before they finally earned contracts for the remainder of the season. Only three players failed to earn contracts for the remainder of the season. TheRio Grande Valley Vipers and theTulsa 66ers each had three players called-up. TheSan Antonio Spurs called-up the most player with four, but only two of them earned contracts for the remainder of the season. TheWashington Wizards called-up three players and each of them earned a contract for the remainder of the season.
Out of the 20 players assigned, 10 of them have played in the NBA before they were called-up. NBA veteranAntonio Daniels, who returned to professional basketball after one-year absence, played for theTexas Legends until he was called up to thePhiladelphia 76ers in April.[50]Jeff Adrien, who began the season with theGolden State Warriors before he was waived in December, was called up by the Warriors in February.[51]Steve Novak andMario West, who have played four and three seasons in the NBA respectively, also received call-ups and were signed for the remainder of the season.[52][53] Other players with NBA experience who were called-up areOthyus Jeffers,Trey Johnson,Danny Green,Orien Greene,Garrett Temple andKyle Weaver. Six players,Marcus Cousin,Zabian Dowdell,Patrick Ewing Jr.,Chris Johnson,Larry Owens andMustafa Shakur, made their first NBA appearance during the call-ups.
| Player | Team | NBA team | Date(s) called-up and contract(s) signed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zabian Dowdell | Tulsa 66ers | Phoenix Suns | January 9: Signed a 10-day contract January 27: Signed a second 10-day contract February 7: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Larry Owens | Tulsa 66ers | San Antonio Spurs | January 16: Signed a 10-day contract January 26: Signed a second 10-day contract |
| Mustafa Shakur | Rio Grande Valley Vipers | Washington Wizards | January 22: Signed a 10-day contract February 12: Signed a second 10-day contract February 28: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Chris Johnson | Dakota Wizards | Portland Trail Blazers | January 24: Signed a 10-day contract |
| Garrett Temple | Erie BayHawks | Milwaukee Bucks | January 25: Signed a 10-day contract February 5: Signed a second 10-day contract |
| Trey Johnson | Bakersfield Jam | Toronto Raptors | January 26: Signed a 10-day contract February 7: Signed a second 10-day contract |
| Orien Greene | Utah Flash | New Jersey Nets | February 1: Signed a 10-day contract |
| Steve Novak | Reno Bighorns | San Antonio Spurs | February 8: Signed a 10-day contract February 22: Signed a second 10-day contract March 4: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Chris Johnson (2) | Dakota Wizards | Boston Celtics | February 24: Signed a 10-day contract |
| Jeff Adrien | Rio Grande Valley Vipers | Golden State Warriors | February 25: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Othyus Jeffers | Iowa Energy | San Antonio Spurs | March 4: Signed a 10-day contract |
| Garrett Temple (2) | Erie BayHawks | Charlotte Bobcats | March 7: Signed a 10-day contract March 17: Signed a second 10-day contract March 28: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Marcus Cousin | Austin Toros | Utah Jazz | March 9: Signed a 10-day contract |
| Jerel McNeal | Rio Grande Valley Vipers | New Orleans Hornets | March 9: Signed a 10-day contract |
| Chris Johnson (3) | Dakota Wizards | Portland Trail Blazers | March 14: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Danny Green | Reno Bighorns | San Antonio Spurs | March 16: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Othyus Jeffers (2) | Iowa Energy | Washington Wizards | March 17: Signed a 10-day contract March 27: Signed a second 10-day contract April 6: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Patrick Ewing Jr. | Sioux Falls Skyforce | New Orleans Hornets | March 26: Signed a 10-day contract April 5: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Kyle Weaver | Austin Toros | Utah Jazz | March 30: Signed a 10-day contract |
| Mario West | Maine Red Claws | New Jersey Nets | March 31: Signed a 10-day contract April 10: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Antonio Daniels | Texas Legends | Philadelphia 76ers | April 5: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Larry Owens (2) | Tulsa 66ers | Washington Wizards | April 6: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Robert Vaden | Tulsa 66ers | Oklahoma City Thunder* | April 9: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Marcus Cousin (2) | Austin Toros | Houston Rockets | April 11: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Magnum Rolle | Maine Red Claws | Atlanta Hawks | April 11: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Marqus Blakely | Iowa Energy | Houston Rockets | April 13: Signed for the remainder of the season |
| Trey Johnson (2) | Bakersfield Jam | Los Angeles Lakers* | April 13: Signed for the remainder of the season |
Note
The seventh annual NBA D-League Showcase was held at theSouth Padre Island Convention Centre inSouth Padre Island, Texas from January 10 until January 13, 2011. The event featured every D-League teams who played two games each over a four-day schedule. The games were attended by the professional scouts from all NBA teams. The event was designed to allow the NBA teams to evaluate the D-League's prospects for future call-ups.[54] After the Showcase, four D-League players,Jeff Adrien,Joe Alexander,Othyus Jeffers andMarcus Landry, along with one NBA player assigned to the D-League,Jeremy Lin, were named to the All-NBA D-League Showcase First Team by a panel of D-League head coaches, NBA scouts and media.[55]
In addition to the 16 games, the league also hosted the inaugural NBA D-League Showcase Three-Point Contest and NBA D-League Showcase Slam Dunk Contest. The Three-Point Contest was won byTexas Legends guardBooker Woodfox, while the Slam Dunk Contest was won bySpringfield Armor guardL. D. Williams.[56]
Eastern Conference[edit]
| Western Conference[edit]
|
Notes
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Trey Johnson | Bakersfield Jam | 25.5 |
| Rebounds per game | Jeff Adrien | Rio Grande Valley Vipers Erie BayHawks | 11.4 |
| Assists per game | Curtis Stinson | Iowa Energy | 9.8 |
| Steals per game | Chris Lofton | Iowa Energy | 2.1 |
| Blocks per game | Sean Williams | Texas Legends | 2.9 |
| Field goal percentage | Latavious Williams | Tulsa 66ers | .639 |
| Three-point field goal percentage | Moses Ehambe | Iowa Energy Austin Toros | .495 |
| Free throw percentage | Blake Ahearn | Erie BayHawks | .962 |
| Double-doubles | Curtis Stinson | Iowa Energy | 28 |
| Triple-doubles | Curtis Stinson | Iowa Energy | 5 |
The fifth annualNBA D-League All-Star Game was held during the2011 NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. The game was played in theLos Angeles Convention Center on February 19. The Eastern Conference All-Stars defeated the Western Conference All-Stars 115–108, led byIowa Energy centerCourtney Sims. Sims scored a game-high 25 points and was named as the MVP of the game. This is the second All-Star MVP honors for Sims after being named as the co-MVP in the2009 All-Star Game.[57]
February 19 5:00 p.m.ET |
| Eastern Conference All-Stars115, Western Conference All-Stars 108 | ||
| Scoring by half: 58–54, 57–54 | ||
| Pts:Courtney Sims 25 Rebs:Ivan Johnson 10 Asts:Walker Russell Jr. 10 | Pts:Sean Williams 21 Rebs:Sean Williams 8 Asts:Orien Greene 8 | |
The fourth annualNBA D-League Dream Factory Friday Night was held on February 18 during the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend. The events included aslam dunk contest, athree-point shooting contest and a shooting stars competition, all of which are also annual competitions in the NBA All-Star Saturday Night. In the Slam Dunk Contest, the reigning championDar Tucker of theNew Mexico Thunderbirds retained his title as the D-League Slam Dunk Champion after defeatingDakota Wizards centerChris Johnson in the final round with a score of 96–93.Texas Legends guardBooker Woodfox, who also won the Three-Point Contest during the D-League Showcase in January, won the Three-Point Shooting Contest. The Shooting Stars Competition was won by the team ofShane Edwards (New Mexico Thunderbirds),Orien Greene (Utah Flash) andJeremy Wise (Bakersfield Jam).[58]
The Eastern and Western Conference winners, along with the next six teams with the best regular season records regardless of conference, qualified for the playoffs. The playoffs consist of three rounds withbest-of-three format. Teams with the better regular season record holdshome-court advantage in every rounds. The teams were seeded from 1 to 8 based on their regular season records. The top three seeds had to choose their opponents in the first round from among the four lowest seeded teams. The fourth seeded team would be paired with the remaining team that is not chosen as an opponent by the top three seeds. The first seed,Iowa Energy, selected the seventh seed,Utah Flash; the second seed,Reno Bighorns, selected the fifth seedErie BayHawks; and the third seed,Rio Grande Valley Vipers, selected the sixth seedBakersfield Jam. The two remaining teams, the fourth seedTulsa 66ers and the eighth seedTexas Legends, faced each other in the last matchup.
| First round | Second round | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Iowa* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Utah | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Iowa* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Tulsa | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Tulsa | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Texas | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Iowa* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Rio Grande Valley | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Reno* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Erie | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Reno* | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Rio Grande Valley | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Rio Grande Valley | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Bakersfield | 1 | ||||||||||||
Notes
April 12 |
| Utah Flash 107,Iowa Energy112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–21, 34–32, 26–33, 22–26 | ||
| Iowa wins series, 2–1 |
April 14 |
| Erie BayHawks 87,Reno Bighorns99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 20–26, 25–24, 19–28 | ||
| Reno wins series, 2–1 |
April 8 |
| Rio Grande Valley Vipers 105,Bakersfield Jam110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–23, 37–31, 21–25, 18–31 |
April 12 |
| Bakersfield Jam 92,Rio Grande Valley Vipers104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 24–27, 27–27, 20–27 |
April 13 |
| Bakersfield Jam 99,Rio Grande Valley Vipers112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–25, 26–34, 22–28, 24–25 | ||
| Rio Grande Valley wins series, 2–1 |
April 8 |
| Texas Legends 89,Tulsa 66ers104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–32, 24–17, 15–27, 31–28 | ||
| Tulsa wins series, 2–0 |
April 18 |
| Tulsa 66ers 94,Iowa Energy107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–30, 32–22, 18–33, 25–22 | ||
| Iowa wins series, 2–0 |
April 17 |
| Reno Bighorns 96,Rio Grande Valley Vipers98 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–26, 22–24, 27–29, 23–13, Overtime: 4–6 |
April 20 |
| Rio Grande Valley Vipers134,Reno Bighorns 126 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–27, 30–32, 32–34, 34–28, Overtime: 13–5 | ||
| Rio Grande Valley wins series, 2–0 |
April 24 8:00 p.m.ET |
| Iowa Energy123,Rio Grande Valley Vipers 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–37, 31–26, 29–9, 35–34 | ||
| Pts:Curtis Stinson 29 Rebs:Curtis Stinson 10 Asts:Hannah,Stinson 10 each | Pts:Mouhammad Faye 22 Rebs:Mouhammad Faye 9 Asts:Terrel Harris 6 | |
April 27 8:00 p.m.ET |
| Rio Grande Valley Vipers141,Iowa Energy 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–29, 38–34, 41–24, 35–35 | ||
| Pts:Jerel McNeal 37 Rebs:Mouhammad Faye 12 Asts:Jerel McNeal 8 | Pts:Moses Ehambe 33 Rebs:Curtis Stinson 10 Asts:Curtis Stinson 12 | |
Wells Fargo Arena,Des Moines, Iowa Attendance: 14,036 Referees:
|
April 29 8:00 p.m.ET |
| Rio Grande Valley Vipers 111,Iowa Energy119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 39–34, 22–28, 27–19, 23–38 | ||
| Pts:Jerel McNeal 29 Rebs:Jerel McNeal 11 Asts:Jerel McNeal 6 | Pts:Stefhon Hannah 31 Rebs:Stanley Robinson 11 Asts:Curtis Stinson 4 | |
| Iowa wins series, 2–1 | ||
Wells Fargo Arena,Des Moines, Iowa Attendance: 9,054 Referees:
|
