Report: G League Considering Using Mamba Sports Academy Facilities for New L.A. Team
As the G League builds its new Los Angeles-based team around Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd, it is considering using Mamba Sports Academy for the team's facilities, according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes.
The G League is looking at other venues to use, but players who have already committed to the "Select Team" are "of the mindset that they will be training at the academy for the 2020-21 season," per Haynes. Mamba Sports Academy is a training facility in Thousand Oaks, Calif., opened by the late Kobe Bryant. The 100,000 square-foot facility is used by athletes of all ages ranging from children to NBA players.
Haynes reports that former NBA coaches Sam Mitchell, Brian Shaw and David Fizdale are candidates for the new team's head coach.
The "Select Team" is a G League initiative that will pay elite prospects and provide a one-year development program separate from the league's prior makeup. To avoid assigning top players to NBA affiliate franchises, the G League has considered developing such high-level prospects in an academy-type structure, according to Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Woo. The salary range for the top prospects is believed to be in the range of $500,000, including incentives and sponsorship opportunities, per Woo.
Green, Sports Illustrated's All-American Player of the Year, and Todd, a five-star prospect, will headline the new team launching next season in Los Angeles.