Solutions for the NBA’s Ignite Issue
Exploring alternative possibilities for what a reimagined G League Ignite program could look like
It has been well-documented that this season for the G League Ignite has been a failure. What’s more up for debate is the efficacy of the entire program relative to prospects getting drafted and having success once they make it to the NBA. Viewpoints ranging from “blow the whole thing up” to “don’t change a thing” are abound (likely with most people falling in the “blow it up” camp), but the truth is that we won’t truly know Ignite’s return on investment until its draftees have matured in the league. To date, the program has succeeded in ushering ten players to draft night, even if some of the can’t-miss prospects would’ve been drafted no matter where they played prior:
Jalen Green
Scoot Henderson
Jonathan Kuminga
Dyson Daniels
MarJon Beauchamp
Jaden Hardy
Leonard Miller
Sidy Cissoko
Isaiah Todd
Mojave King
Over All-Star Weekend, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was asked for his thoughts around the program and he gave surprisingly candid, yet ominous answers.
Time will tell us if Ignite will actually change, and when it was first reported, many thought that Silver was hinting at getting rid of the entire idea of Ignite. But upon closer examination of what he actually said, a drastic pivot may be in order instead.
What might that pivot look like? Read on for a few possibilities of what G League Ignite could transform into in the near future.
NBA Academy + BAL Elevate Clone
One of the simplest paths forward for the NBA is to replicate a couple models of theirs that are already working around the world today. The first part involves building and marketing an NBA Academy stateside. Maybe they call it NBA Academy Ignite for continuity or NBA Academy Central if they’re looking for a complete overhaul. Once created, this academy would simply follow what their African, Latin American, Indian and Australian counterparts do: find high school aged talent and invite them to join the preparatory training station. They would compete in all the same events as the other academies as well as prestigious US high school events since they will be close enough to attend them.
Now comes the fun part that impacts the professional ranks. The NBA and FIBA have seen success in their joint venture, the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and its current youth structure, the BAL Elevate program. Through this program, each team in the BAL can draft one NBA Academy Africa player to their team. From there, it’s generally up to the teams to integrate the player how they see fit. It’s a good chance for young players to experience the pro game and to keep developing homegrown talent on the continent. Under this approach, Silver should allow each G League team to draft a player from any of the academies. For consistency, this program could be called G League Elevate.
Adopting this in the G League makes all the sense in the world, as the Academy would essentially act as a development league for the development league and the NBA could build excitement for their academies in the process.
G League Next Stars
Of all the non-college, post-high school options out there, the Australian NBL might have the most sustainable model in their Next Stars program. Through this program, talented draft-eligible players are invited to be a part and get paid a specific salary. Teams are allocated a special roster spot designated for Next Stars and develop them for a year with professional experience before they move on to the NBA or other fully pro teams. It’s really a simple process and the NBL didn’t overthink it. They get top talent from France, Lithuania, America and pretty much anywhere else in the world to raise the profile of their league. This year’s class is their largest yet and features eight players on draft boards between this year and next:
Alex Sarr
Bobi Klintman
AJ Johnson
Trentyn Flowers
Mantas Rubstavicius
Ariel Hukporti
Alex Toohey
Rocco Zikarsky
The NBA could turn the Ignite program into a carbon copy of this system, letting young players join G League organizations directly instead of having one team full of prospects. This could also open the door for more exhibitions against NBL Next Star teams for more exposure. This approach gets directly at the heart of what drove many prospects to join the original Ignite program in the first place — a chance to compete against professional adults. This way would just also keep team success as a focus so guys can develop in a (hopefully) winning context.
Overtake Overtime
When Overtime Elite first launched, it almost seemed like a gimmick. But it has grown to be a legitimate postgrad alternative — and complement — for players who participate.
Overtime Elite is a league for 16–20 year olds that develops them for the next level, whether that is college, the NBA or another prep program. They do this by offering athletes two tracks: one with a $100,000 minimum salary for players who are all-in on the professional path, and an alternative route that doesn’t pay them a salary in case a player changes course and wants to attend a university following their time at OTE. So far, some of their alumni have gone on to a variety of landing spots:
The NBA partnering with or buying out OTE could bring an extra dose of legitimacy to the program and give the league a stronger foothold on the pre-college market. There’s significant opportunity to improve the branch of this that’s geared toward future college athletes, especially in the wake of the NIL landscape. There is also significant concern over the competition level, largely due to the AAU-like feel to OTE’s events. Alternatively, a greater impact on youth basketball could be made by expanding the player pool and adding teams under the NBA’s Ignite umbrella to compete with OTE players.
Adam Silver has expressed disdain for the current US grassroots system; he can put his money where his mouth is with this venture and begin to change the culture firsthand.
Jr. NBA Expansion
Given Silver’s gripes about America’s youth development structure, it makes sense for the NBA to lean all the way in on instructing the youth. In fact, they’ve already begun that work; now it’s just a matter of expanding their efforts.
For a long time, the Jr. NBA wasn’t much more than a resource for youth coaches to reference and a hub for youth-focused community service initiatives. But as of 2022, the Jr. NBA has been hosting youth leagues in 13 NBA and WNBA markets. The goal is to have professionals teach kids fundamentals of the game from a young age, seemingly to combat the individualistic era many lament today.
Growing this into a grassroots system somewhere between AAU and Basketball Without Borders seems like the next logical evolution. To make best use of the existing infrastructure, the NBA could partner with Nike, Adidas, Under Armor and any other shoe company with a circuit to have them feed into the Jr. NBA system. They would then host marquee events in the spring and summer along with camps throughout the year for top prospects and teams. The key difference in this system would be prioritization of fundamentals via coaching staffs that are vetted and accredited. With this top-down structure, the hope would be for the NBA to indirectly dictate player priorities to weed out less desirable traits. This would take an immense amount of logistical coordination but isn’t impossible, especially with the resources available to the NBA.
These various NBA G League Ignite evolutions aren’t exclusive, and many of them can be combined with one another or optimized in whatever way makes the most sense. Regardless of the chosen path though, now is the time for the NBA to flex their strength as the most powerful basketball league in the world by positively influencing and guiding basketball development from youth through adulthood and post retirement.