The D-League, founded in 2001, was once a little-known passion project of the NBA that yielded mixed results for players and organizations alike. And as recently as a decade ago, it was a place fresh-faced draft prospects and established journeymen actively sought to avoid on their pursuit of earning legitimate minutes in the association.
The aforementioned developmental farm system has since rebranded to the G League following a Gatorade title sponsorship in 2017. And in a revolutionary move made in 2020, they created a prep-to-pro team called the G League Ignite to provide elite high school recruits an alternative to college and overseas experience before declaring for the draft.