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Grand Rapids Gold

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Grand Rapids Gold
2023–24 NBA G League season
Grand Rapids Gold logo
ConferenceEastern
LeagueNBA G League
Founded2006
HistoryAnaheim Arsenal
2006–2009
Springfield Armor
2009–2014
Grand Rapids Drive
2014–2021
Grand Rapids Gold
2021–present
ArenaVan Andel Arena
LocationGrand Rapids, Michigan
Team colorsMidnight blue, sunshine yellow, Flatirons red, white[1][2][3]
       
PresidentSteve Jbara
Head coachAndre Miller
OwnershipSSJ Group
Affiliation(s)Denver Nuggets
Championships0
Conference titles0
Division titles2 (2012, 2019)
Websitegrandrapids.gleague.nba.com

The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim Arsenal in 2006, before relocating to Springfield, Massachusetts, in 2009, becoming the Springfield Armor. After five seasons in Springfield, the franchise moved to Grand Rapids in 2014 and were subsequently renamed the Grand Rapids Drive, before changing their name again to the Gold in 2021.

Franchise history

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2006–2009: Anaheim Arsenal

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The franchise began in 2006 as the Anaheim Arsenal as an expansion team in the NBA Development League (NBA D-League). Based in Anaheim, California, and playing at the Anaheim Convention Center, the Arsenal were an affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers.[4][5][6] However, the Arsenal era was mainly marked by futility, never having a winning season or a playoff berth. On March 31, 2009, the Arsenal announced that they would relocate to Springfield, Massachusetts.[5][7]

2009–2014: Springfield Armor

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On July 29, 2009, it was announced that Dee Brown would become the head coach.[8] On September 2, the Armor picked first in the 2009 NBA Development League Expansion Draft, selecting center Marcus Campbell.[9] The team ended their inaugural 2009–10 season with a record of 7–43 (.140), the worst record in D-League history. They also became the first (and so far only) team to lose every road game, as they went 0–25. No team won less than 20% of their games until the 2019-20 Northern Arizona Suns (.190); the 2020-21 Iowa Wolves broke the dubious record by going 2–13 for a percentage of .133 before the 2023-24 G League Ignite went 2-32 to set a new mark for futility.

During the 2010–11 season, the Armor started by picking fifth in the D-League Draft, and selected La Salle's Vernon Goodridge.[10] The Armor would end up finishing with a record of 13–37, sixth in the seven-team Eastern Conference. After the season, head coach Dee Brown opted to leave the team to join the Detroit Pistons.[11] Brown was replaced soon after by Bob MacKinnon Jr.[12] During the 2010–11 season, the team was an affiliate of the New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.[13]

For the 2011–12 season, the Armor entered into a single affiliation partnership with the Brooklyn Nets, giving the Nets full control over the basketball operations of and making them the sole affiliate for the Armor. The Nets became the second NBA team to enter into a single affiliation with an NBA D-League team, joining the Houston Rockets and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[14][15]

2014–2021: Grand Rapids Drive

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On April 15, 2014, it was announced that the SSJ Group purchased the Springfield Armor and would relocate the team to Grand Rapids, Michigan for the 2014–15 season. The Grand Rapids franchise would be locally owned and established a single-franchise "hybrid" affiliation with the Detroit Pistons.[16] The affiliation between the Pistons and the Drive was the third between the two cities as the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League also share an affiliation, as do the Detroit Tigers of the American League and the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League.[17]

The team launched a name-the-team contest shortly after the formal announcement. The contest produced four finalists: Drive, Chairmen, Horsepower, and Blue Racers. The community was encouraged to vote online in order to determine which of the four names would become the official team name.[18] Out of those names, the Grand Rapids Drive was selected.[19][20]

On July 29, 2020, the Pistons announced that the organization had officially purchased the Northern Arizona Suns from the Phoenix Suns and were relocating the franchise to Detroit for the 2021–22 season. It was also announced that the affiliation between the Pistons and Drive would end after the 2020–21 season. The ownership of the Drive were stated as looking for an option to continue operations once the affiliation was set to end of after the 2020–21 season.[21] The Drive would be one of several G League teams to opt out of the single-site shortened season held in Orlando. On January 8, 2021, the Drive stated they were negotiating with a new affiliate and could include a new name and logo.[22]

2021–present: Grand Rapids Gold

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On April 27, 2021, the Drive announced a new affiliation agreement with the Denver Nuggets.[23] As part of the new affiliation, the Drive were rebranded as the Grand Rapids Gold, with the name, logo and color scheme announced on July 7.[1] The organization operates under a hybrid model with the Nuggets controlling the basketball operations and SSJ Group, with Steve Jbara as owner and president, controlling the team's business operations and community engagement.[24] On August 19, the Gold named Jason Terry as its new head coach.[25]

With the DeltaPlex Arena set to close before the start of the 2022-23 season, the Gold announced on June 2, 2022 that they had signed a five-year lease with Van Andel Arena to serve as their new home.[26]

Season-by-season

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Season Division Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses Pct.
Anaheim Arsenal
2006–07 Western 4th 23 27 .460
2007–08 Western 4th 23 27 .460
2008–09 Western 6th 15 35 .300
Springfield Armor
2009–10 Eastern 7th 7 43 .140
2010–11 Eastern 6th 13 37 .260
2011–12 Eastern 1st 29 21 .580 Lost First Round (Canton) 1–2
2012–13 Eastern 5th 18 32 .360
2013–14 Eastern 3rd 22 28 .440
Grand Rapids Drive
2014–15 Central 4th 23 27 .460
2015–16 Central 4th 21 29 .420
2016–17 Central 4th 26 24 .520
2017–18 Central 2nd 29 21 .580 Lost First Round (Raptors) 88–92
2018–19 Central 1st 28 22 .560 Lost First Round (Raptors) 90–91
2019–20 Central 3rd 25 18 .581 Season cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 Opted out of single-site season
Grand Rapids Gold
2021–22 Eastern 7th 17 15 .531
2022–23 Eastern 14th 9 23 .281
Regular season record 328 429 .433 2006–present
Playoff record 1 4 .200 2006–present

Current roster

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Grand Rapids Gold roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G — Alexander, Trey (TW) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-05-02 Creighton
F 45 Baker, Joey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-09-13 Michigan
C — Bediako, Charles 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2002-03-10 Alabama
G 55 Ellis, Walter 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-11-29 Grand Canyon
G 13 Franklin, Armaan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 2000-11-17 Virginia
C — Hall, PJ (TW) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 2002-02-21 Clemson
F — Jones, Spencer (TW) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 2001-06-14 Stanford
G 10 Mondy, Duke 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1990-12-02 Oakland
G 7 Richardson, Will 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1999-09-03 Oregon
G 5 Wills, Bryce 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 2000-10-03 Stanford
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Travess Armenta (Associate HC)
  • David Adkins
  • Jimmie Oakman
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (P) Prospects
  • (NBA) On assignment from NBA affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: July 30, 2024

Head coaches

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# Head coach Term Regular season Playoffs Achievements
G W L Win% G W L Win%
1 Reggie Geary 2006–2008 100 46 54 .460 — — — —
2 Sam Vincent 2008–2009 50 15 35 .300 — — — —
3 Dee Brown 2009–2011 100 20 80 .200 — — — —
4 Bob MacKinnon Jr. 2011–2013 100 47 53 .470 3 1 2 .333
5 Doug Overton 2013–2014 50 22 28 .440 — — — —
6 Otis Smith 2014–2016 100 44 56 .440 — — — —
7 Rex Walters 2016–2017 50 26 24 .520 — — — —
8 Robert Werdann 2017 12 4 8 .333 — — — —
9 Ryan Krueger 2017–2019 88 53 35 .602 2 0 2 .000
10 Donnie Tyndall 2019–2020 43 25 18 .581 — — — —
11 Jason Terry 2021–2022 32 17 15 .531 — — — –
12 Andre Miller 2022–present 0 0 0 – — — —

NBA affiliates

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Anaheim Arsenal

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Springfield Armor

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Grand Rapids Drive

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Grand Rapids Gold

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Grand Rapids Drive Announce New Name And Logo". NBAGrandRapids.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "Grand Rapids Gold Unveil Official Jerseys for 2021-22 NBA G League Season". NBAGrandRapids.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 25, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021. Home jerseys are navy with yellow lettering and burgundy trim. Away jerseys are white with blue numbers, yellow lettering, and burgundy trim.
  3. ^ "Grand Rapids Gold Reproduction and Usage Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  4. ^ Calhoun, Damian (June 16, 2006). "Anaheim basketball development team is 'Arsenal'". The Orange County Register. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Springfield gets NBA D-League team". ESPN.com. March 31, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  6. ^ "Courtside close". The Orange County Register. September 8, 2006. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  7. ^ Finn, Chad (March 31, 2009). "Springfield lands NBDL franchise". Boston.com. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  8. ^ Chimelis, Ron (July 29, 2009). "Springfield Armor of NBA D-League name former Boston Celtics player Dee Brown head coach". Springfield Republican. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  9. ^ "NBA Development League: 2009 Expansion Draft Board". Nba.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  10. ^ Thomas, Jeff (November 2, 2010). "Armor select La Salle's Goodridge with first pick in D-League Draft". Springfield Republican. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  11. ^ Thomas, Jeff (September 12, 2011). "Dee Brown out as Springfield Armor coach; Bob MacKinnon in?". Springfield Republican. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  12. ^ Thomas, Jeff (September 14, 2011). "Springfield Armor introduce Bob MacKinnon, Jr. as their new head coach". Springfield Republican. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  13. ^ "Nets To Run Basketball Ops of D-League's Springfield Armor". nba.com. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
  14. ^ New Jersey Nets To Run Basketball Operations Of Springfield Armor In 2011-12 Archived 2016-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Nets to Run Basketball Ops of D-League's Springfield Armor
  16. ^ "Springfield Armor's departure for Grand Rapids made official by NBA Development League". Springfield Republican. April 15, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  17. ^ Mayo, David (March 26, 2014). "Grand Rapids to get NBA D-League team, will affiliate with Detroit Pistons". MLive. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  18. ^ Wallner, Peter (May 1, 2014). "Grand Rapids NBA D-League team announces four name finalists". Mlive.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved Mar 1, 2014.
  19. ^ "Detroit Pistons NBA D-League Affiliate Reveals Name: Grand Rapids Drive". NBA.com. June 17, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  20. ^ Wallner, Peter (June 17, 2014). "Grand Rapids NBA D-League team gets a nickname, and vote wasn't even close". Mlive.com. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  21. ^ Beard, Rod (July 29, 2020). "Pistons buy G League team to play in Detroit for 2021-22; Grand Rapids Drive mull options". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  22. ^ "Turning Our Attention to the 2021-22 Season". Grand Rapids Drive. January 8, 2021.
  23. ^ "Grand Rapids Drive to serve as Nuggets' affiliate starting in 2021-22". NBA.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. April 27, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  24. ^ Nelson, Danielle (2022-02-04). "Basketball's return to GR not a slam dunk". Grand Rapids Business Journal. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  25. ^ "Grand Rapids Gold Name Jason Terry Head Coach". OurSports Central. August 19, 2021.
  26. ^ "Grand Rapids Gold to Call Van Andel Arena Home for Upcoming Seasons". 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
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