BISMARCK, N.D.—As the Dakota Wizards rallied for a thrilling comeback overtime victory over their top rival, Sioux Falls, on a Sunday night, nearly everybody at the Bismarck Civic Center was on their feet.
Conspicuously sitting through it all, in the front row at center court, was one man, dressed in a suit. But even though Dan Reed might have been impartial about the outcome of the game, the NBA D-League president enjoyed how it played out as much as any of the screaming fans surrounding him.
“It’s been an incredibly competitive season,” Reed said. “We have 10 teams competing for eight playoff spots, and games like this are happening all across the league. It’s very exciting.
“I think it’s going to be a great playoffs,” he said. “If the games are as exciting as this one, it’s going to be a treat to watch.”
As the D-League wraps up its eighth season, Reed is optimistic about where the circuit is now and where it’s headed.
“I think we’ve had another successful season,” he said. “We had an all-time high of 16 teams. The two newest teams, in Reno and Erie, have both done quite well.
“I think a couple things have stood out this year,” Reed said. “The talent level has gone way up. It’s been reflected in the number of call-ups and assignments we’ve had from the NBA. But just in general, all the talent evaluators agree, this is the best level of talent we’ve ever had in the D-League. I think it will show in the NBA in a couple of years.”
Not everything is perfect. Most notably, the team with the best record in the league—the Colorado 14ers—might not make it to next season, at least not in Colorado. But Reed said overall the league is healthy. Expanding to the east, with teams planned for Springfield, Mass., and Portland, Maine, next season, can only help the D-League get exposure. Reed said spreading the word about the league is one of his top priorities.
“I think continuing to build the awareness of the league is extremely important to us,” he said. “I don’t think the average fan knows how good these players are. I don’t think they recognize that there are 76 former D-Leaguers in the NBA.”
One of the biggest stories of this season is the D-League’s new playoff format, which allows the three division winners to pick their first-round opponents, with the No. 1 overall seed getting first choice.
“It’s a perfect fit for our league, because the rosters change, because an eighth seed might pick up three NBA players,” Reed said.
Potentially an even more sweeping change being considered is the idea of “hybrid affiliation,” which could change the way franchises are run.
“The concept is similar to minor league baseball or minor league hockey, allowing the major league team to control the sport operations of the minor league team without having to own the minor league team,” Reed said. “As you see now, three NBA teams own their own D-League teams. A lot of NBA teams have expressed interest in controlling the basketball operations of a D-League team. They see a lot of value in it.
“So we’re working with the NBA, NBA teams and D-League teams on a model that might more easily facilitate that,” he said.
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Information from: Bismarck Tribune,
