2018 NBA G League Winter Showcase To Take Place In Las Vegas

Since 2005, the NBA D/G League has held an annual Showcase event where every team competes in one location. At its inception, the event was essentially meant to give NBA scouts and executives an opportunity to watch these minor league players and determine if they’re warranted of receiving a 10-day contract.

However, as the league has grown, so has the Showcase as the event has expanded to a longer event to deal with the increased amount of teams. A prime example of that was seen during the last iteration of the event that took place in Mississauga, Ontario in January 2018.

That showcase was a four-day event where all 26 teams competed in two arenas, Mississauga Sportzone and Hershey Centre. The competition being spread out through two separate venues was actually introduced during that 2018 event, as past iterations had action take place in just one arena.

On Tuesday afternoon, the G League revealed their next step to growing their headline event. That announcement came with the unveiling of the 2018 MGM Resorts NBA G League Winter Showcase, which will be played in Las Vegas from December 19th through the 22nd at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Due to the sheer size of that facility, all 27 games will take place on two courts at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

During the first three days of the event, December 19th, 20th, and 21st, there will be seven games played as action will begin at 12 PM Pacific Time and conclude with the last game starting at 7:30 PM. However, there will be only six games played on those two courts with the final matchup tipping off at 6 PM.

In addition to the new location, this will be the first time that the Showcase will take place in December. Since the event started in 2005, the Showcase has occurred during the first or second week of January.

Alongside the G League games, the Showcase will also host over 20 players from the various NBA Academies. The international prospects that refined their games in those academies will scrimmage against each other and participate in the 2018 Tarkanian Classic, a tournament that features some of the best high school talent from across the United States.

The schedule of games, which will be closed to fans, that will take place over the course of the four-day event is seen below.

Wednesday, December 19

VISITOR HOME TIME (PT) LOCATION

Memphis at Raptors 12:00 pm Court 1

Maine at Lakeland 2:30 pm Court 1

Texas at Erie 5:00 pm Court 1

Northern Arizona at Windy City 7:30 pm Court 1

Austin at Capital City 12:30 pm Court 2

Iowa at Westchester 3:30 pm Court 2

Agua Caliente at Grand Rapids 6:00 pm Court 2

Thursday, December 20

VISITOR HOME TIME (PT) LOCATION

Long Island at Rio Grande Valley 12:00 pm Court 1

Greensboro at South Bay 2:30 pm Court 1

Fort Wayne at Salt Lake City 5:00 pm Court 1

Lakeland at Santa Cruz 7:30 pm Court 1

Wisconsin at Memphis 12:30 pm Court 2

Canton at Sioux Falls 3:30 pm Court 2

Delaware at Stockton 6:00 pm Court 2

Friday, December 21

VISITOR HOME TIME (PT) LOCATION

Capital City at Agua Caliente 12:00 pm Court 1

Erie at Northern Arizona 2:30 pm Court 1

Raptors at Texas 5:00 pm Court 1

Sioux Falls at Maine 7:30pm Court 1

Grand Rapids at Oklahoma City 12:30 pm Court 2

Westchester at Austin 3:30 pm Court 2

Windy City at Iowa 6:00 pm Court 2

Saturday, December 22

VISITOR HOME TIME (PT) LOCATION

South Bay at Fort Wayne 12:00 pm Court 1

Stockton at Wisconsin 2:30 pm Court 1

Oklahoma City at Long Island 5:00 pm Court 1

Santa Cruz at Canton 12:30 pm Court 2

Rio Grande Valley at Greensboro 3:30 pm Court 2

Salt Lake City at Delaware 6:00 pm Court 2