The NBA announced yesterday that the G League Ignite, a team run by the NBA to ease high school players into a year of professional basketball before declaring for the NBA Draft, will be ceasing operations. This season’s group is the fourth and final roster for the franchise, with potential 2024 lottery pick Ron Holland also playing on the Ignite.
Holland is one of many talented young players to have passed through the Ignite franchise, but who is the best player to have come out of the Ignite in its four seasons of operations? Today, we seek to find who are the five best players that the team has produced in its short time of existence.
5. Jaden Hardy
The G League Ignite was an attractive spot for some of the best high school talent in the USA who wanted to play professional ball instead of spending a season in college before an inevitable move to the NBA. Jaden Hardy was among the top-ranked recruits of his high school class but decided to go to the G League Ignite, where he averaged 17.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 35.1% from the field in one season.
Hardy did not impress in the G League, watching his stock dramatically crash to him becoming a second-round pick, selected by the Dallas Mavericks. He’s in his second year in Dallas and is still looking to become a key rotational piece for the franchise.
He’s averaged 8.0 points in two seasons with the Mavericks, showing off the offensive talent that led to him being considered a top-five draft pick when he was leaving school.
4. Dyson Daniels
Dyson Daniels went to the G League despite having a ton of options available to him in 2021 when he was finishing his schooling. Despite fielding multiple scholarship offers, Daniels decided to pass on them and play in his home country’s NBL to join the G League Ignite in its second season of operation. He was playing alongside Jaden Hardy and averaged 11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists on 44.9% from the field as a talented combo guard.
Daniels impressed in his stint with the Ignite, ultimately being drafted as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He has had some unfortunate injury luck restricting him from playing a lot for the contending Pelicans, though he’s been a solid contributor when available.
He’s averaged 4.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in his two seasons with the Pelicans. While his production isn’t high, he’s a very effective guard on both ends of the court.
3. Scoot Henderson
Ranking Scoot Henderson at No. 3 is extremely challenging and could be a foolish decision given the struggles of his NBA rookie season. We saw flashes of them over the last season when Henderson was playing for the G League Ignite while being heralded as a top-two pick for the entire season. He averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists on 42.9% from the field, losing his status as a top-two pick and falling to No. 3.
The start to his NBA career hasn’t been pretty, with Henderson averaging 12.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists as a rookie. It looks like he won’t even qualify for the NBA’s All-Rookie Team altogether, a huge failure given his high-pick status. But Henderson is among the most high-potential players to have gone through Ignite.
His NBA career has just begun and his athletic profile seems to promise that he could be a game-changing prospect once he adjusts to the NBA.
2. Jonathan Kuminga
The best players produced by the G League Ignite came in their first season of existence in 2020-21. Having Jonathan Kuminga on their team was among the few statements the NBA made with the franchise, as Kuminga was expected to be the perfect future NBA forward with his size and two-way versatility.
He averaged 15.8 points and 7.2 rebounds on 38.7% from the field while playing on the Ignite, still solidifying himself as a top-five pick based on potential and being selected by the Golden State Warriors in 2021.
Kuminga is in the midst of a breakout season this year after being a rotational contributor for the Warriors over the last three seasons. Kuminga won a title as a rookie but had minimal impact on that success. This season, Kuminga has stepped into a second-option role at times and had success, averaging 16.4 points and 4.7 rebounds. He could easily retire with the No. 1 spot on this list by the end of his career.
1. Jalen Green
Putting Jalen Green at No. 1 is a controversial opinion given his inconsistent success in the NBA, but he has looked like the best prospect to have ever come out of the G League Ignite in their short history. Green was the first high-profile recruit joining the Ignite, parlaying a season where he averaged 17.9 points and 4.1 rebounds on 46.1% from the floor into becoming the No. 2 overall pick of the 2021 Draft.
Green hasn’t been the potentially generational talent many expected him to be but he’s proven his value at the NBA level. Green has averaged 19.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists over his three seasons in the NBA, recently entering a purple patch of form as the Rockets are threatening to make the playoffs with Green as their No. 1 scoring option.
The potential for Green to be a success as a high-volume guard is extremely high, provided he can ensure his focus remains on the game of basketball.
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