NEW YORK — The NBA G League today announced a Select Contract as part of a comprehensive professional path that will be available, beginning with the 2019-20 season, to elite prospects who are eligible to play in the NBA G League but not yet eligible for the NBA. The contracts, which will include robust programmatic opportunities for development, are for elite players who are at least 18 years old and will pay $125,000 for the five-month season.
“Select Contracts are an answer to the basketball community’s call for additional development options for elite players before they are eligible for the NBA,” said NBA G League President Malcolm Turner. “The supporting infrastructure surrounding these newly-created Select Contracts is designed to provide a rich offering of basketball and life skills developmental tools for top young players to grow along their professional paths from high school to the pros.”
* Q&A: NBA G League President Malcolm Turner
NBA G League Select Contracts are designed for year-round professional growth and will include opportunities for basketball development, life skills mentorship and academic scholarship. These offerings are slated to include basketball workouts during the summer months through existing NBA infrastructure like NBA Summer League and NBA Academies, year-round education programs designed to increase players’ ability to personally and professionally manage their careers, and a scholarship program for athletes who want to pursue higher education after their playing days. Additionally, the NBA G League will further enhance player experience through existing partner relationships and NBA player development programming.
During the year leading up to the 2019-20 season, the NBA G League will hire a dedicated program manager and establish a working group that will be tasked with identifying eligible elite players who may be offered Select Contracts. More broadly, this working group will also oversee the implementation of the professional path initiative.
Players will be eligible to sign a Select Contract if they turn 18 by Sept. 15 prior to the season in which they would play. While there is no maximum age for a player to be eligible for a Select Contract, the contracts are not available to players who have gone through an NBA Draft.
The NBA G League’s 18th season tips off on Nov. 2 with a record 27 teams. The 50-game regular season runs through March with the playoffs taking place in April. For the 2018-19 season, NBA G League rosters are made up of players signed to NBA two-way contracts, players signed to NBA G League contracts and NBA players on assignment in the NBA G League.
