Tulsa 66ers Game Notes
November 22, 2012 - NBA G League (G League)
Tulsa 66ers News Release
Opening Night: Tulsa will tip off its 2012-13 campaign against the Texas Legends at the SpiritBank Event Center. The 66ers are 2-5 in season-opening games and 1-6 in home openers.
A Historic Moment in Professional Basketball: This past summer both the Tulsa 66ers and Texas Legends made historic coaching hires, and tonight the new head ball coaches face off for the first time. Tulsa's new head coach, Darko Rajakovic, is a native of Serbia and the first NBA D-League coach born outside of North America. On the other bench is Texas head coach Eduardo Najera, the first Mexican-born coach in the league. Friday night's matchup will mark the first game in NBA D-League under an internationally-born head coach, and applies to both coaches.
Thunderous Lineup: The 66ers integrated connection with their NBA affiliate, the Oklahoma City Thunder, will be on full display Friday night. OKC's roster features four players that spent training camp and preseason with the Thunder. DeAndre Liggins and Daniel Orton, were assigned to the club on Thursday night while Andy Rautins and Hollis Thompson joined the team at the start of Tulsa training camp through the NBA D-League's affiliate rule.
Familiar Foe: Although the Texas Legends will begin just their third season in the NBA D-League season, Friday's contest marks the 16th meeting between the two clubs. Tulsa edges Texas in the series, 8-7.
Housewarming Party: The 66ers open up their new court in their new arena on Friday night. The 66ers are returning to the SpiritBank Event Center after three seasons in downtown Tulsa at the Tulsa Convention Center. Seven of Tulsa's first eight games of the season will be played at home, giving the 66ers plenty of opportunities to break in their new house. Tulsa boasted a 13-11 home record in 2011-12.
Fresh Faces: In addition to a new coach, new arena and new court, the 66ers will put out a roster of new faces. Of the 10 players on Tulsa's active roster, just two wore a Tulsa uniform in 2011-12 (Brady Morningstar and Will Creekmore). The opening night roster as built through various tactics: the NBA affiliate rule (Andy Rautins and Hollis Thompson), NBA D-League Draft (Ron Anderson, Rodney Bartholomew, Dominique Sutton, Tony Taylor, Isaiah Wilkerson) and an open tryout initiation (Mario Little).
• Discuss this story on the NBA G League message board...
NBA G League Stories from November 22, 2012
- Tulsa 66ers Game Notes - Tulsa 66ers
- Oklahoma City Thunder Assign Liggins and Orton to NBA D-League Affiliate Tulsa 66ers - G League
- Deandre Liggins and Daniel Orton Assigned to Tulsa 66ers - Tulsa 66ers
- Mad Ants Announce 2012-13 Opening Night Roster - Indiana Mad Ants
- Pacers Assign Johnson, Plumlee to Mad Ants - Indiana Mad Ants
- Indiana Pacers Assign Plumlee and Johnson to NBA D-League Affiliate Fort Wayne - G League
- Legends Announce Opening Day Roster - Texas Legends
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.
