Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Rio Grande Valley Vipers
League	NBA G League
Founded	2007
History	Rio Grande Valley Vipers 2007–present
Arena	Bert Ogden Arena
Location	Edinburg, Texas
Team colors	Red, gray, black, white[1][2]
General manager	Jimmy Paulis
Head coach	Joseph Blair
Ownership	RGV Basketball
Affiliation(s)	Houston Rockets
Championships	2 (2010, 2013)
Conference titles	4 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2017)
Division titles	2 (2010, 2013)
Website	Official site

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League. They play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena, in Edinburg, Texas. With two D-League titles in 2010 and 2013, the Vipers are the most successful team in the league along with the Asheville Altitude and Santa Cruz Warriors.

The Vipers entered a single-partnership affiliation agreement with the Houston Rockets during the 2009–10 season. Previously, they were also affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 2007–08 and the New Orleans Hornets from 2007–09.

History

After the finish of the 2006-2007 season, the D-League announced an expansion to Hidalgo, Texas, with the team name "Rio Grande Valley Vipers". In their debut season, 2007-2008, they finished with a 21–29 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs. In 2008–09, they finished with the same record, failing to advance to the playoffs for the second year in a row.

In 2009, the Vipers and the Houston Rockets entered into a single affiliation partnership in which the Rockets controlled the Vipers' basketball operations while the franchise remains under local ownership by Alonzo Cantu. The result paid immediate dividends in the 2009–10 season, as the Vipers enjoyed their most successful season. Led by league MVP Mike Harris, and coach of the year Chris Finch, the Vipers went 34–16, tops in the Western Conference, and earned the franchise's first playoff berth. In the playoffs, the Vipers beat both Reno and Austin in 3 games, and swept Tulsa in the Finals to earn the franchise's first championship.^[3]

In 2013, the Vipers won their second title over the Santa Cruz Warriors. Andrew Goudelock won the NBA Development League Most Valuable Player Award and got called up by the Los Angeles Lakers.

In November 2013, the Vipers announced Gianluca Pascucci as the general manager and Nevada Smith as the head coach.^[4][5]

On February 26, 2015, the Vipers broke ground on a new arena in Edinburg called Bert Ogden Arena and was originally scheduled for completion in October 2016. The arena was reportedly initially designed to house 8,500 seats, along with being a venue used for entertainment. The Vipers will be the main tenant and operator (while the City of Edinburg will own the arena), and there will be a 40-by-20 foot jumbotron, the largest in the league. The arena was funded by sales taxes and cost an estimated $68 million, with nearly half being funded privately.^[6] After a few delays, the new arena was announced to have a grand opening in June 2018, with the Vipers beginning play in the arena for the 2018–19 season, and an estimated end cost of $88 million.^[7]

On August 18, 2015, the Vipers named Matt Brase their new head coach.^[8]

Season-by-season

Current roster

Head coaches

Past players

• Aaron Brooks, G, 6'0", University of Oregon (2007)
• Steve Novak, F, 6'10", Marquette University (2007)
• Jarred Merrill, F, 6'9", Oklahoma Christian University (2007)
• Gabe Muoneke, F, 6'7", University of Texas at Austin (2007)
• Kenny Taylor, G, 6'3", University of Texas at Austin (2007–08)
• C.J. Watson, G, 6'2", University of Tennessee (2007–08)
• Kevin Bookout, F, 6'8", University of Oklahoma (2007–08)
• Cedric Simmons, F, 6'9", North Carolina State University (2008)
• Shannon Brown, G, 6'4", Michigan State University (2008)
• Chris Taft, F, 6'10", University of Pittsburgh (2008)
• Luke Anderson, F, 6'6", University of Minnesota (2008)
• Kyle Davis, F, 6'9", Auburn University (2008)
• Marcus Morris, F, 6'9", University of Kansas (2012)
• Glen Rice, Jr., F, 6'6", Georgia Tech (2013)
• Hassan Whiteside, C, 7'0", Marshall (2013)
• Dwayne Lathan, G, 6'3", Indiana State (2013–14)
• Isaiah Taylor, G, 6'3", Texas (2016–17)

Players assigned from NBA teams

• Steve Novak – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 11, 2007
• Aaron Brooks – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 6, 2007
• Cedric Simmons – assigned by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 2, 2008
• Shannon Brown – assigned by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 11, 2008
• Joey Dorsey – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 26, 2008
• Joey Dorsey – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 13, 2009
• Jermaine Taylor – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 28, 2010
• Ishmael Smith – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 17, 2011
• Marcus Morris – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 2, 2012 & February 3, 2012
• Patrick Beverley – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 7, 2013
• Isaiah Canaan – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 7, 2013
• Clint Capela – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 10, 2014
• Nick Johnson – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 18, 2014
• K. J. McDaniels – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 11, 2015
• Montrezl Harrell – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 6, 2015
• Sam Dekker – assigned by the Houston Rockets on February 19, 2016
• Chinanu Onuaku – assigned by the Houston Rockets on October 31, 2016
• Kyle Wiltjer – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 13, 2016
• Troy Williams – assigned by the Houston Rockets on March 10, 2017

Players recalled to the NBA

• Aaron Brooks – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 14, 2007
• Steve Novak – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 17, 2007
• Cedric Simmons – recalled by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 11, 2008
• Shannon Brown – recalled by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 17, 2008
• Marcus Morris - recalled by the Houston Rockets on January 16, 2012 & February 20, 2012
• Patrick Beverley – recalled by the Houston Rockets on January 15, 2013
• Isaiah Canaan – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 21, 2013
• Nick Johnson – recalled by the Houston Rockets on November 24, 2014
• Clint Capela – recalled by the Houston Rockets on March 27, 2015
• Sam Dekker – recalled by the Houston Rockets on March 5, 2016
• K. J. McDaniels – recalled by the Houston Rockets on March 5, 2016
• Montrezl Harrell – recalled by the Houston Rockets on April 10, 2016
• Chinanu Onuaku – recalled by the Houston Rockets on November 21, 2016
• Kyle Wiltjer – recalled by the Houston Rockets on November 21, 2016

Players called up to the NBA

• C.J. Watson – called up by the Golden State Warriors on January 8, 2008
• Jawad Williams – called up by the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 9, 2009
• Mike Harris – called up by the Houston Rockets on December 23, 2009
• Will Conroy – called up by the Houston Rockets from January 28 to February 8, 2010
• Garrett Temple – called up by the Houston Rockets on February 8, 2010
• Mustafa Shakur – called up by the Washington Wizards, 2011
• Drew Goudelock – called up by the Los Angeles Lakers, 2013
• Jordan Hamilton – called up by the New Orleans Pelicans on March 25, 2016
• Isaiah Taylor – called up by the Houston Rockets on February 27, 2017
• Gary Payton II – called up by the Milwaukee Bucks on April 2, 2017

Affiliates

• Cleveland Cavaliers (2007–2008)
• New Orleans Hornets (2007–2009)
• Houston Rockets (2007–present)

References

External links

• Official Website of the Rio Grande Vipers
• Newspaper article announcing the team