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Kai Sotto and Jalen Green, two of the first recruits in the NBA G League, in an NBTC game at Mall of Asia. NBTC PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines: The NBA G League has spent two decades developing players on the way to the NBA, but only this year it burst onto the scene in terms of recruiting coaching players.
Top high school recruits Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd, Daishen Nix, and Kai Sotto have decided to play the development circuit rather than prepare for high-profile colleges.
NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim said trying to sign these elite recruits was like a college setup where he emphasized teaching youth about the G League rather than just throwing a pitch in a single meeting.
“I would say it is not a pitch, but there is a lot of education about the league.” We have a long history of developing players, “Abdur-Rahim said in a video conference. “Last season we started the year with 40 percent of players on the NBA rosters with experience in the G League.”
“It wasn’t necessarily a launch, it was more of an education series about the G League and what we offer and our emphasis on them achieving their goals.”
NBA champions Pascal Siakam, Danny Green and Jeremy Lin played in League G, while notable players such as James Johnson, Seth Curry, Gerald Green, Anthony Tolliver, Robert Covington and Andre Ingram also spent time in development.
The NBA G League’s success in signing players like Gree also means it has the ability to draw talent from high-profile universities like Kentucky, Auburn, North Carolina, Kansas, the University of California at Los Angeles, and Arizona.
At the close of the 2018-19 NBA season, 52 percent of all players have played in the NBA G League.
“We have a history of players joining our league and it’s about educating younger players about what we do and the time we spend working with the players,” said Abdur-Rahim.
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