NBA D-League Expands to 18 as Knicks Purchase Team

The NBA Development League and The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) today announced that MSG has acquired the right to own and operate an NBA D-League team that will play in White Plains, New York. The new team will be the NBA D-League’s record 18th team and will be the exclusive affiliate of the New York Knicks, playing its home games at the Westchester County Center, approximately 30 miles north of New York City. With the purchase, the Knicks become the seventh NBA team to fully own and operate their own NBA D-League affiliate.

“We are thrilled to work with the New York Knicks and Westchester County to bring NBA D-League basketball to White Plains,” said Dan Reed, NBA D-League president. “The New York area has a rich basketball history and we’re excited to give some of the game’s best fans the opportunity to watch top NBA prospects up close and personal in an intimate, family-friendly and affordable environment.”

Allan Houston, the Knicks’ Assistant General Manager, will serve as the new team’s General Manager, while Bill Boyce joins the MSG family as the vice president of sales and business operations for the club in Westchester, reporting to Dave Howard, president of MSG Sports. Bill joins MSG after four years as the president of the NBA D-League’s Frisco-based Texas Legends.

“We are very excited to bring a New York Knicks NBA Development League franchise to Westchester, a great basketball community that has embraced orange and blue and served as our training home for 25 plus years,” said Houston. “The NBA D-League is thriving, and this opportunity allows us to develop players closer to our training facility, and to provide high level, affordable basketball entertainment to the community.”

The Knicks are inviting fans to help choose the name for the new team. From now until March 24, fans can go to nyknicksdleague.com to submit their names online. Following the submission process, fans will go back to the same website to vote for the final team name. In addition, beginning today, fans can enter to win two full season tickets on the website; the sweepstakes will run until April 11.

Chairman of the Westchester Board of Legislators Michael Kaplowitz also welcomed the arrival of The Madison Square Garden Company and the New York Knicks organization to the County Center. “Westchester basketball fans will now have a quality professional sports team to root for right here at the County Center that builds on a long and storied tradition of basketball in Westchester County,” he said.

The team will bring the NBA D-League’s signature brand of NBA-caliber basketball and affordable, family-friendly entertainment to the County Center, where the squad will play 24 regular-season home games between November and April. The County Center will potentially play host to an additional six NBA D-League playoff games in April.