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On early Tuesday afternoon, the NBA G League announced in an official press release that the Raptors 905 would be hosting the 2018 G League Showcase, for the second consecutive season. Originally reported by RaptorsRepublic’s Blake Murphy, the 2018 G League Showcase will be a four-day, 26-game event that will run from January 10th-13th, 2018 that will feature each G League team playing twice.
Over the course of those four days, there will be as many as seven games per day across two courts. Coinciding with the Hershey Centre, the 905’s current home arena, action will also take place at the adjourning Hershey SportComplex.
“We’re thrilled to work in partnership with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and Raptors 905 to bring the NBA G League Showcase back to Mississauga,” said NBA G League President Malcolm Turner said in a press release. “Last year’s event proved to be successful on and off the court, and I’m looking forward to another week of great basketball and community events in the Greater Toronto Area.”
This is actually a change over prior G League Showcases that had previously only utilized one court. While it might not seem like much, the additional court reduces the Showcase from five to four days. Alongside that, there’s a strong possibility that teams won’t have to tip-off at 10:00AM, which will obviously allow players to be more rested.
That additional down-time could lead to better on-court performances, which might push more G Leaguers to get called up to the NBA as they will compete against a slew of As we currently stand more than 50 players have earned NBA call-ups during the prior 13 Showcases.
The most recent example came last year when the Mavericks signed then-Long Island Nets guard Yogi Ferrell to a 10-day deal after he put up 22 points, 7.5 assists and 3 rebounds in 37 minutes during the 2017 Showcase. Ferrell immediately stood as one of the Mavericks best scorers as he put up 11.3 points and 4.3 assists per game on 41% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. Those great numbers was enough for Ferrell to earn NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors.