NBA Development League Changes Name to NBA G(atorade) League
The branded partnerships continue
The 15-year-old minor league to the National Basketball Association, commonly known as the NBA Development League or D-League, has joined in on the Association’s newfound branding initiative. Marking the first time in American sports history that a professional league has named an entitlement partner, the D-League will be renamed to the Gatorade League, or G-League, as part of a multiyear expanded partnership. With this partnership, not only will the new G-League logo be featured across all game balls, team jerseys, on-court signage, and so on, but Gatorade will also incubate its latest product and equipment innovations into locker rooms around the league with the goal of maximizing athletic potential and on-court performance.
The NBA G-League has been an integral part of the NBA family: 40 percent of current NBA players have spent time in the Development League, while four current NBA head coaches started as coaches on D-League benches. The Association has strengthened that tie through a number of initiatives in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, including allowing NBA teams to have up to two “two-way players” on their rosters beginning next season. Two-way players will gain experience in the NBA, but will primarily play in the NBA G-League during the season.
