Breaking Down The 2016-17 NBADL Schedule Release

The D-League is not the NBA by any means, but they have released their schedule for the upcoming season and it should be noted that it is worth looking at. Here are a two big reasons why.

The D League Is Expanding

Since last year, two teams have moved (Northern Arizona and Salt Lake City) while teams have been added (Greensboro, Long Island and Windy City), bringing the grand total to 22 teams. The teams include the Long Island Nets, Greensboro Swarm, Northern Arizona Suns, Salt Lake City Stars and Windy City Bulls. This is a great step for the organization because this provides a new opportunity for more players to continue to play in the states instead of playing overseas.

Conference Realignment

Because the D-League has grown, alignment has been issued to accommodate the growth that D-League is experiencing. The Eastern Conference will include the following teams:

Meanwhile, the Western Conference is now alligned in the following way:

On Monday afternoon, the D-League announced that the season will tip off Friday, November 11th. The upcoming season features 24 home and road games for each team, including two additional games in the annual NBA D-League Showcase in January.

In that schedule release, we found out how the three new squads will start their D-League season. The Northern Arizona Suns season will begin on November 12th, where they’ll face the Iowa Energy. The Greensboro Swarm will also begin their season on the 12th as they face the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Meanwhile the Salt Lake City Stars will start their D-League season against the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the defending D-League champions.

The Long Island Nets will face off against the Windy City Bulls on opening night, and will play 3 more road games before playing their first ever game at Barclays Center against the Canton Charge. Further information will be released as the season approaches.