List of NBA G League champions

The NBA G League (previously known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005 and the National Basketball Association Development League (NBA D-League) from 2005 to 2017) Finals is the championship game or series for the NBA G League and the conclusion of the league's postseason.

NBA G League awards and honors
Championship
Individual awards
Honors

Since the league's inception in 2001–02, a variety of formats has been used to determine the champion. From the inaugural postseason in 2002 through 2006, the four teams with the best records advanced to the postseason because there were no division or conference splits to divide the eight teams.[1][2][3][4][5] The first two seasons, both semi-finals and the Finals series were in a best-of-three format, whereby a team must win two of the three games to advance or win the championship[1][2] (the best-of-three would resume again in 2008 and is still used today).[6][7][8][9] Then, between 2004 and 2007, the playoffs used a single-elimination tournament among the four teams, with two semi-final games and one winner-takes-all championship match.[3][4][5][6]

In 2007, the league had expanded to 12 teams and was divided into Eastern and Western Conferences, comprising six teams apiece.[6] The playoffs pitted each conference's winner against one another, with the Eastern Conference's Dakota Wizards winning the championship 129–121 in overtime against the Colorado 14ers.[6] With the league's continued expansion to 14 and 16 teams over the next two years, respectively, the two-conference format was replaced with a three-division format consisting of Western, Southwestern and Central Divisions.[7][8] Both the 2008 and 2009 NBADL championship series were between teams representing the Western and Southwestern Divisions, with no Central teams ever making it to the finals.[7][8] These divisions split, with the Idaho Stampede of the Western Division winning in 2008, while the Colorado 14ers of the Southwestern Division won in 2009. Since 2010, the league has re-formatted to the Eastern and Western Conferences. Due to there being two more teams in the Western Conference (9) than the Eastern Conference (7), and because the top eight teams with the best regular season records qualify for the postseason irrespective of conference, the 2010 NBADL Finals consisted of two Western Conference teams.[9] No teams from the east had advanced beyond the first two rounds, and the NBADL champion that season was the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[9]

Key
Bold Winning team of the Finals
† Had or tied for the best regular season record for that season
Team (X) Denotes the number of times the team has won
(also includes past names of franchise, if applicable)

Champions

2002 to 2006
Year Champion Result Runner-up Reference
2002 Greenville Groove† 2–0 North Charleston Lowgators† [1]
2003 Mobile Revelers 2–1 Fayetteville Patriots† [2]
2004 Asheville Altitude† 1–0 Huntsville Flight [3]
2005 Asheville Altitude (2) 1–0 Columbus Riverdragons† [4]
2006 Albuquerque Thunderbirds 1–0 Fort Worth Flyers† [5]

2007
Year Western Division Champion Result Eastern Division Champion Reference
2007 Colorado 14ers 0–1 Dakota Wizards† [6]

2008 to 2009
Year Champion Division Result Runner-up Division Reference
2008 Idaho Stampede† Western 2–1 Austin Toros Southwest [7]
2009 Colorado 14ers† Southwest 2–0 Utah Flash Western [8]

2010 to present
Year Champion Conference Result Runner-up Conference Reference
2010 Rio Grande Valley Vipers Western 2–0 Oklahoma City Blue Western [9]
2011 Iowa Energy† Eastern 2–1 Rio Grande Valley Vipers Western [10]
2012 Austin Toros Western 2–1 Los Angeles D-Fenders Western [11]
2013 Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2) Central 2–0 Santa Cruz Warriors Western [12]
2014 Fort Wayne Mad Ants Eastern 2–0 Santa Cruz Warriors Western [13]
2015 Santa Cruz Warriors (2) Western 2–0 Fort Wayne Mad Ants Eastern [14]
2016 Sioux Falls Skyforce Eastern 2–1 Los Angeles D-Fenders Western [15]
2017 Raptors 905 Eastern 2–1 Rio Grande Valley Vipers Western [16]
2018 Austin Spurs (2) Western 2–0 Raptors 905 Eastern [17]
2019 Rio Grande Valley Vipers (3) Western 2–1 Long Island Nets Eastern
2020No NBA G League playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic[18]

Results by teams
TeamsFinals
appearances		ChampionshipsRunners-upYears wonYears runners-up
Rio Grande Valley Vipers5322010, 2013, 20192011, 2017
Dakota Wizards / Santa Cruz Warriors[f]4222007, 20152013, 2014
Columbus Riverdragons / Austin Toros[b] / Austin Spurs4222012, 20182005, 2008
Asheville Altitude / Tulsa 66ers[a] / Oklahoma City Blue3212004, 20052010
Huntsville Flight / Albuquerque Thunderbirds /
New Mexico Thunderbirds / Canton Charge[d]		21120062004
Colorado 14ers / Texas Legends[c]21120092007
Fort Wayne Mad Ants21120142015
Raptors 90521120172018
Greenville Groove1102002—
Mobile Revelers1102003—
Idaho Stampede / Salt Lake City Stars1102008—
Iowa Energy1102011—
Sioux Falls Skyforce1102016—
Los Angeles D-Fenders / South Bay Lakers202—2012, 2016
North Charleston Lowgators / Charleston Lowgators / Florida Flame[e]101—2002
Fayetteville Patriots101—2003
Fort Worth Flyers101—2006
Utah Flash / Delaware 87ers / Delaware Blue Coats 101—2009
Long Island Nets101—2019
Agua Caliente Clippers—————
Bakersfield Jam / Northern Arizona Suns—————
Erie BayHawks / Lakeland Magic—————
Erie BayHawks—————
Grand Rapids Drive—————
Greensboro Swarm—————
Maine Red Claws—————
Memphis Hustle—————
Reno Bighorns / Stockton Kings—————
Westchester Knicks—————
Windy City Bulls—————

See also

Notes
  • a The Asheville Altitude relocated and became the Tulsa 66ers in 2005–06.[19]
  • b The Columbus Riverdragons relocated and became the Austin Toros in 2005–06.[19]
  • c The Colorado 14ers went on hiatus in 2009–10 and returned as the Texas Legends in 2010–11 after a relocation.[20]
  • d The Huntsville Flight relocated and became the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in 2005–06, then the franchise simply renamed itself to the New Mexico Thunderbirds in 2010–11. The franchise was then purchased and relocated in 2011–12 and became known as the Canton Charge.[19][21]
  • e After two years as the North Charleston Lowgators, the franchise became known as the Charleston Lowgators for one season prior to their relocation. The franchise was known as the Florida Flame for the 2004 through 2006 seasons.[19]
  • f The Dakota Wizards relocated and became the Santa Cruz Warriors in 2012–13.[19]

References
  1. "2001–02 NBDL season summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  2. "2002–03 NBDL season summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  3. "2003–04 NBDL season summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  4. "2004–05 NBDL season summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  5. "2005–06 NBA Development League season summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  6. "2006–07 NBA Development League season summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  7. "2007–08 NBA Development League season summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  8. "2008–09 NBA Development League season summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  9. "2009–10 NBA Development League season summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  10. Emmert, Mark (April 29, 2011). "Iowa Energy Win NBA D-League Championship". Des Moines Register. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  11. "Dentmon, Austin top Los Angeles for D-League crown". Fox News. April 29, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  12. "Warriors Fall to Rio Grande Vipers in NBA D-League Finals". NBA.com. April 27, 2013. Archived from the original on April 27, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  13. "Fort Wayne Mad Ants Capture 2014 NBA Development League Title". NBA.com. April 26, 2014. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  14. "Title Wave: Santa Cruz Wins NBA D-League Championship". NBA.com. April 26, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  15. "Sioux Falls Skyforce Cap Historic Season with First NBA D-League". NBA.com. April 27, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  16. "One For the 905! Raptors Affiliate Takes Home Title". NBA.com. April 27, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  17. >"Austin Spurs Win 2018 NBA G League Championship". NBA.com. April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  18. "NBA G League Cancels Remainder of 2019-20 Season". NBA G League. 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  19. "National Basketball Development League Facts: NBDL Membership Chronology 2002–2007". apbr.org. Association for Professional Basketball Research. 2008. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  20. "NBA League Development Team Comes to Frisco; Colorado 14ers to Move Operations". ci.frisco.tx.us. June 18, 2009. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  21. Hubert, Matt (August 18, 2010). "D-League 101: D-League Franchise History". D-League Digest. dleaguedigest.com. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
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