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NEW YORK — The National Basketball Association and the NBA Development League, the official minor league of the NBA, today announced that the Utah Jazz's NBA D-League affiliate for the 2013-14 season will be the Bakersfield Jam.
Based in Bakersfield, Calif., and founded in 2006, the Jam plays its home games at Dignity Health Events Center and will also be affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns and Toronto Raptors during the 2013-14 season. The Jazz were affiliated with the Reno Bighorns during the 2012-13 season, as were the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings.
Since player assignments began in 2005, the Jazz has had four different NBA D-League affiliates (Albuquerque Thunderbirds 2005-06, Idaho Stampede 2006-07 and 2011-12, Utah Flash 2007-11, Reno Bighorns 2012-13) and has assigned six different players on a total of 16 assignments. The Jazz has also called up 10 different players from eight NBA D-League teams since the 2001-02 season, most recently guard Jerel McNeal from the Jam on March 27, 2013.
The NBA Development League, founded in 2001, is the NBA's official minor league whose teams have direct affiliations to NBA franchises. For the ninth consecutive year, each NBA team has one NBA D-League team to which it may assign players. A proven developer of talent, 30 percent of players in the NBA at the conclusion of the 2012-13 season boasted NBA D-League experience. During the 2012-13 season, the NBA D-League saw all-time highs in NBA player assignments (184) and individual players assigned (58) from their NBA parent clubs. Twenty six players drafted in 2012 spent time on assignment in the NBA D-League, including 11 first-round selections. The league also continues to develop coaches, referees and front-office staff for the NBA and its teams.
For the second season, NBA players in the first three years of their NBA careers may be assigned to their NBA D-League affiliate an unlimited number of times, according to the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, while for the third consecutive year, players beyond the first three years of their NBA careers may be assigned to their NBA D-League affiliate with their consent and the consent of the NBA Players Association.
The NBA D-League will have 17 teams playing in 2013-14, which, in addition to the Jam, includes (NBA parent teams in parentheses): the Austin Toros (San Antonio), Canton Charge (Cleveland), Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia), Erie BayHawks (New York), Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Charlotte, Detroit, Indiana, Memphis, Milwaukee, Orlando), Idaho Stampede (Portland), Iowa Energy (Chicago, Denver, Minnesota, New Orleans, Washington), Los Angeles D-Fenders (L.A. Lakers), Maine Red Claws (Boston), Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston), Reno Bighorns (Sacramento), Santa Cruz Warriors (Golden State), Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami), Springfield Armor (Brooklyn), Texas Legends (Dallas) and Tulsa 66ers (Oklahoma City).
