The G League Ignite program is perhaps the newest way for top basketball prospects to prepare for the NBA. As of 2020 it has allowed players who are not yet NBA draft eligible to join their team and receive special training and competition while preparing for the NBA itself. Only a couple of years into the Ignite’s existence we have already watched it produce Jalen Green and now Scoot Henderson as top flight NBA draft prospects. It is hard to imagine any 18 year old turning down close to 500 thousand dollars to play basketball in the G league, but what is the Ignite program really? Yet it is hard for anyone to really explain what the Ignite actually is. The truth is that the G League Ignite might as well be a college basketball team that plays against G league competition, and is just as much of a gamble for you to actually make it in the league, as it is to sign with Kentucky or Duke, and this is why. 

The Ignite is not for most prospects

First things first, the Ignite program is not for everyone. The NBA advertised the team in 2020 as a training program for the league, which means that to make it on the roster as a high school recruit, the NBA itself has to have their eye on you. It is based out of Henderson, Nevada where any high school recruit who ends up signing is offered a full scholarship to Arizona State University, apparently taking those classes online. However, most of the roster is filled with players who either have NBA experience, or at the very least summer league and preseason experience, who also played in college. That means that only a few roster spots actually go to high school “select” players. In 2020 the first year that the team was in effect, Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Isaiah Todd, and Daishen Nix joined the team. They were ESPN basketball recruits number 1, 4, 15, and 21 which I bring up for a reason. After that season three of them were drafted, 2nd, 7th, 31st respectively. Notice I left out a number, because the fourth player on that list Daishen Nix went undrafted.

The thing is that had they went to college and left for the draft, those draft positions are about what we would have expected. Typically the number 1 basketball recruit in the nation is a high lottery pick, and anyone in the top 10 of the nation has a shot to land there as well. But if you are outside the top 10 and leave college after only 1 season, you will likely go late first round, or early second round which is what happened to Green, Kuminga, and Todd. Daishen Nix was ranked 21st. Which doesn’t mean he can’t play in the league one day, but it is rare for any player outside the top 20 to get drafted after going just one and done. What matters is that the G league ignite program doesn’t really allow a player to re-up for another season like college does.

The Ignite is basically college basketball

With everything we have to go off of, the Ignite program is just a hyped up version of a college basketball team. Sure they play against G league teams, but the best college basketball teams in the nation could hold their own in the G league as well, especially if they are led by a top NBA prospect. If the plan is for players to be better prepared for the NBA, the G League Ignite has some work to do. They play roughly the same amount of games as of now as college teams, but do not participate in the G league playoffs. The biggest difference between the Ignite and playing for Duke in the ACC is that Duke does not pay its players directly, although NIL now accomplishes that goal. You can also choose to come back to Duke for another season. After a player does one year with the Ignite, it becomes either the NBA or bust.

The Ignite program is hit or miss

Making it on the G League Ignite team is extremely hard to do. For the most part, the top 20 recruits in the nation might have the option, but the results afterwards may vary. The Ignite can just as easily expose a player as not being ready for the NBA as it can prepare them., but there is no going back. Players who stay in college get four years to refine their game if they choose to take it. So there is no excuse for them to fail in the league since it was always their decision to make.

Scoot Henderson is considered to be the top prospect on the Ignite this season, and he was the 7th ranked recruit in the class of 2021. This is a technicality because he graduated high school early he ended up playing two seasons with the Ignite, working his way up to becoming a lock for a top 3 pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Scoot Henderson basically used the Ignite like a college, but he had the talent for the league either way, and got paid while he waited. For those fortunate enough to get a roster spot, it can certainly help your draft stock. But the same could be said about March Madness. With NIL deals seemingly here to stay, the pay in the G league isn’t making that much of a difference any more. So it seems that if the G League Ignite program is going to survive over the coming years, they are going to have to find some way to sweeten their deal.

KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.

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