NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2014 – The National Basketball Association and the NBA Development League, the official minor league of the NBA, today announced the full list of affiliations between NBA and NBA D-League teams for the 2014-15 season, including an all-time high 17 single-affiliation partnerships.  The Detroit Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive), Memphis Grizzlies (Iowa Energy), New York Knicks (Westchester Knicks), Orlando Magic (Erie BayHawks), Phoenix Suns (Bakersfield Jam) and Utah Jazz (Idaho Stampede) all entered into single affiliation relationships with their NBA D-League affiliate during the offseason. Additionally, the NBA D-League has implemented a new flexible assignment system which will enable the 13 independent NBA teams to continue to assign players to the NBA D-League for development or rehabilitation.

For the 10^th consecutive season, each singly-affiliated NBA team will have one NBA D-League team to which it may assign its players.  The Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the lone independent NBA D-League Team, will be affiliated with the remaining 13 NBA teams.  To accommodate assignments to Fort Wayne, a flexible assignment system will be utilized when an independent NBA team assigns a player at a time when the Mad Ants already have either the maximum of four NBA players on assignment or two assigned players at the position of the NBA player who is being assigned.  In either event, the NBA D-League will identify to the assigning NBA team any singly-affiliated NBA D-League team that is willing to accept the assigned player, and the independent NBA team assigning the player will choose a team from among those teams to assign the player.  If no singly-affiliated NBA D-League team is willing to accept the assigned player, he will be assigned to one of the non-NBA-owned single affiliate teams pursuant to a lottery.

During the 2013-14 season, an all-time high 62 NBA players were assigned to their NBA D-League affiliates a record 187 times.  Twenty-five players drafted in 2013 spent time on assignment in the NBA D-League last season, including 10 first-round selections.  Portland Trail Blazers’ rookie C.J. McCollum, selected 10^th overall, and Minnesota Timberwolves’ rookie Shabazz Muhammad, selected 14^th overall, headline the group of 2013 NBA draftees who honed their skills in the NBA D-League last season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors each assigned five players to their NBA D-League affiliates during the 2013-14 season, while the New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings and 2014 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs each sent four players to the NBA D-League during the course of last season.

For the third season, players in the first three years of their NBA careers may be assigned to their team’s NBA D-League affiliate an unlimited number of times.  For the fourth consecutive year, players beyond the first three years of their NBA careers may be assigned to the NBA D-League with both their consent and the consent of the NBA Players Association.

Of the 17 singly-affiliated NBA D-League teams who will play in 2014-15, seven are fully owned and operated by their NBA parent club (Austin Toros, Canton Charge, Delaware 87ers, Los Angeles D-Fenders, Oklahoma City Thunder NBA D-League Team, Santa Cruz Warriors, and Westchester).  Nine teams (Bakersfield, Erie, Idaho, Iowa, Grand Rapids, Maine Red Claws, Reno Bighorns, Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Sioux Falls Skyforce) are operated under a “hybrid” affiliation, whereby the NBA team manages and funds the basketball operations while local ownership maintains control of the business and community relations aspects of the team.  The Dallas Mavericks and Texas Legends have a one-to-one affiliation by way of Donnie Nelson’s ownership of the Legends.

The NBA D-League continues to be a springboard for NBA talent with an all-time high 33 percent of all NBA players on 2013-14 end-of-season rosters having played in the NBA D-League during their careers.

The complete affiliation system for 2014-15 is listed below:

AUSTIN TOROS (TX)

San Antonio Spurs

 BAKERSFIELD JAM (CA)

Phoenix Suns

CANTON CHARGE IO(OH)

Cleveland Cavaliers

DELAWARE 87ERS (Newark, DE)

Philadelphia 76ers

ERIE BAYHAWKS (PA)

Orlando Magic

FORT WAYNE MAD ANTS (IN)

Atlanta Hawks

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

Chicago Bulls

Denver Nuggets

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

Milwaukee Bucks

Minnesota Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans

Portland Trail Blazers

Toronto Raptors

Washington Wizards

GRAND RAPIDS DRIVE (MI)

Detroit Pistons

IDAHO STAMPEDE (Boise, ID)

Utah Jazz

IOWA ENERGY (Des Moines, IA)

Memphis Grizzlies

LOS ANGELES D-FENDERS (CA)

Los Angeles Lakers

MAINE RED CLAWS (Portland, ME)

Boston Celtics

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER NBA D-LEAGUE TEAM (OK)

Oklahoma City Thunder

RENO BIGHORNS (NV)

Sacramento Kings

RIO GRANDE VALLEY VIPERS (Hidalgo, TX)

Houston Rockets

SANTA CRUZ WARRIORS (CA)

Golden State Warriors

SIOUX FALLS SKYFORCE (SD)

Miami Heat

TEXAS LEGENDS (Frisco, TX)

Dallas Mavericks

WESTCHESTER KNICKS (White Plains, NY)

New York Knicks