Thunderbirds To Begin Third Season November 23
July 24, 2007 - NBA G League (G League)
New Mexico Thunderbirds News Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., July 24, 2007 - The Albuquerque Thunderbirds and first-year Coach Jeff Ruland will begin their third season at home on Friday, November 23, the day after Thanksgiving, against the Idaho Stampede at 7 p.m. in Tingley Coliseum. The Stampede were last year's runners-up in the NBA Development League playoffs, losing to Dakota.
A majority of the D-League schedule falls on weekends, making it easier for families to spend time together. Albuquerque Thunderbirds fans will enjoy 18 home games (75 percent of the 24-game schedule) on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday at Tingley Coliseum.
March will be a special month for Thunderbird fans. The Austin Toros, owned and operated by the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs, will visit Albuquerque for a set of four games from March 8 through 14. Thunderbirds fans will round out the weekend on Sunday with the LA D-Fenders, who are owned by the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 2007-08 Martin Luther King showcase will take place January 14-17 at Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho. The D-League will play the second NBA Development League All-Star Game as part of the 2008 NBA All-Star weekend in New Orleans, LA.
With the expansion to 14 teams, the D-League is realigning into three divisions for the 2007-08 season. The Southwest and West divisions will feature five teams while the Central division will have four. The Thunderbirds will play in the Southwest Division along with Austin, Colorado, Rio Grande Valley and Tulsa.
"The realignment and scheduling structure encourages divisional rivalries," D-League President Dan Reed said. "Plus, with this scheduling system, we had the ability to cut down on travel which we believe, in turn, will provide for a better product on the floor."
The Divisions for the 2007-08 season will break down as follows:
Central Southwest West
Dakota Wizards Albuquerque Thunderbirds Anaheim Arsenal
Fort Wayne Mad Ants Austin Toros Bakersfield Jam
Iowa Energy Colorado 14ers Idaho Stampede
Sioux Falls Skyforce Rio Grande Valley Vipers Los Angeles D-Fenders
Tulsa 66ers Utah Flash
The league's assignment system will enter its third season in 2007-08. Over the first two seasons, NBA teams have assigned 53 players a total of 77 times, including 30 selections from the 2005 and 2006 NBA Drafts. Last season, a total of 47 former NBA draft picks played in the D-League. Lottery selections such as Portland's Martell Webster (6th pick overall in 2005), Golden State's Patrick O'Bryant (9th pick, 2006) and Seattle's Mouhamed Sene (10th pick, 2006) all were assigned to their respective team's D-League affiliate.
Entering its seventh season, the NBA Development League - the NBA's minor league established to develop talent across all disciplines for the NBA - has relocated its headquarters from Greenville, S.C. to New York City to help foster the D-League's continued growth by giving it direct access to the support and resources of the NBA and WNBA. During the 2006-07 season, 19 NBA teams assigned 24 players to D-League rosters, and 14 NBA teams called-up 16 players (âGatorade Call-ups') while 31 D-League alumni participated in the NBA Playoffs. Additionally, every referee hired by the NBA since 2002 has worked in the D-League, while coaches, athletic trainers and front office executives are also being developed. The 2007-08 NBA season will also include the first-ever D-League coach to be promoted to the NBA with Sam Vincent taking over head coaching duties for the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Thunderbirds continually stay focused on the community by participating in community events such as the Read to Achieve Program as well as D Leagues Cares. In the past two seasons the Thunderbirds have worked 2,996.50 hours in the community, staying dedicated to Albuquerque and New Mexico.
The NBA Development League includes the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (N.M.), Anaheim Arsenal (Calif.), Austin Toros (Texas), Bakersfield Jam (Calif.), Colorado 14ers (Broomfield), Dakota Wizards (Bismarck, N.D.), Idaho Stampede (Boise), Los Angeles D-Fenders (Calif.), Sioux Falls Skyforce (S.D.) and Tulsa 66ers (Okla.). Expansion teams for the 2007-08 season have will include the Utah Flash (UT), the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Texas), Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Ind.) and Iowa Energy (IA).
Established to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the D-League also offers fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. For additional information on the NBA Development League, visit D-LEAGUE.com.
Thunderbirds 2007-08 season tickets are already on sale and can be purchased at abqtbirds.com or at Thunderbirds Front Office. For premium or group seating call the Thunderbirds office at (505) 265-DUNK or log on to www.abqtbirds.com.
2007 - 08 HOME SCHEDULE
November
Friday 23 Idaho Stampede 7:00 PM
December
Friday 7 Colorado 14ers 7:00 PM
Saturday 8 Colorado 14ers 7:00 PM
Saturday 15 Anaheim Arsenal 7:00 PM
Friday 28 Utah Flash 7:00 PM
January
Saturday 5 Ft. Wayne Mad Ants 7:00 PM
14-17 MLK Showcase (Boise, Idaho) TBA
Wednesday 23 Rio Grande Valley Vipers 10:30 AM
Friday 25 Rio Grande Valley Vipers 7:00 PM
Saturday 26 Sioux Falls Skyforce 7:00 PM
February
Friday 1 Dakota Wizards 7:00 PM
Tuesday 5 Tulsa 66ers 10:30 AM
Friday 22 Rio Grande Valley Vipers 7:00 PM
Saturday 23 Rio Grande Valley Vipers 7:00 PM
Thursday 28 Bakersfield Jam 7:00 PM
Friday 29 Colorado 14ers 7:00 PM
March
Sunday 2 Iowa Energy 3:00 PM
Saturday 8 Austin Toros 7:00 PM
Tuesday 11 Austin Toros 7:00 PM
Thursday 13 Austin Toros 7:00 PM
Friday 14 Austin Toros 7:00 PM
Sunday 16 Los Angeles D-Fenders 3:00 PM
Thursday 20 Tulsa 66ers 7:00 PM
Friday 21 Tulsa 66ers 7:00 PM
April
Saturday 12 Colorado 14ers 7:00 PM
* All TIMES ARE MOUNTAIN
• Discuss this story on the NBA G League message board...
NBA G League Stories from July 24, 2007
- Bakersfield Jam To Tip-Off D-League Season November 24 - Bakersfield Jam
- Dakota Wizards To Tip-Off Season November 23 - Dakota Wizards
- Austin Toros Schedule Set For 2007-08 Season - Austin Spurs
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants Announce Schedule - Indiana Mad Ants
- Flash Open Inaugural Season November 24 - Utah Flash
- Stampede To Tip-Off D-League Season November 23 - Idaho Stampede
- Colorado 14ers Set to Tip-Off NBA D-League Season Nov. 23 - Colorado 14ers
- Skyforce Announces 2007-08 Schedule - Sioux Falls Skyforce
- Thunderbirds To Begin Third Season November 23 - New Mexico Thunderbirds
- All-Star Game, D-League Showcase HeadLine 2007-08 NBA Development League Schedule - G League
- Tulsa 66ers Announce 2007-08 Schedule - Tulsa 66ers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
