In 2018, the NBA G League announced they would be offering ‘select contracts’ to elite high school prospects as an alternative to the NCAA.
The league finally has gotten their first big name in Jalen Todd from Prolific Prep in Fresno, California.
He isn’t the only prospect taking the G League route as Isaiah Todd has decided to join as well and both will be a part of the ‘Select Team.’ This team will be focused on growth and assimilation including professional coaches and training as well as community events and life skills programs. The year-long program will also include 10 to 12 games against other G League teams that won’t count towards the standings.
Of course, this new team will need a place to operate out of and according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, they are looking at Kobe Bryant‘s Mamba Sports Academy:
The G League’s newly formed “Select Team” — featuring prep stars Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd — is looking into making its home base at the Mamba Sports Academy, a training facility in Thousand Oaks, California, launched by the late Kobe Bryant, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Sources said the NBA and G League are exploring utilizing the developmental center to be the headquarters for the team, which offers prep stars a new path to the NBA.
This makes a ton of sense as the Mamba Sports Academy has state of the art equipment and access to everything a young athlete would need to improve both on the court as well as physically with the weight room and other training options. Though it still isn’t finalized, Haynes noted that those still considering joining the Select Team are under the impression that it will take place there:
Although the partnership with the Mamba Sports Academy is not official with other venues still being considered, the committed prep stars and the those still deliberating joining the G League are of the mindset that they will be training at the academy for the 2020-21 season, sources said.
This ‘Select Team’ is truly a major step for the NBA in getting top prospects ready for the league and offers an alternative to the NCAA. These prospects such as Green and Todd could make potentially up to $500,000 and they will get hands-on training as well as getting used to the life that comes with being in the NBA.
Bryant was all about youth sports and preparing the future generations to be great and this is something that is a move in that direction so using his academy to help these future players makes all the sense in the world.