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 titles1 (2018–19)
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

2006–2009: Anaheim Arsenal

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

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.

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

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

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

Season Division Regular season Postseason results
FinishWinsLossesPct.
Anaheim Arsenal
2006–07Western4th2327.460
2007–08Western4th2327.460
2008–09Western6th1535.300
Springfield Armor
2009–10Eastern7th743.140
2010–11Eastern6th1337.260
2011–12Eastern1st2921.580Lost First Round (Canton) 1–2
2012–13Eastern5th1832.360
2013–14Eastern3rd2228.440
Grand Rapids Drive
2014–15Central4th2327.460
2015–16Central4th2129.420
2016–17Central4th2624.520
2017–18Central2nd2921.580Lost First Round (Raptors) 88–92
2018–19Central1st2822.560Lost First Round (Raptors) 90–91
2019–20Central3rd2518.581Season cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21Opted out of single-site season
Grand Rapids Gold
2021–22Eastern7th1715.531
2022–23Eastern14th923.281
Regular season record328429.4332006–present
Playoff record14.2002006–present

Current roster

Grand Rapids Gold roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
G 0 Boum, Souley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-01-26 Xavier
C 35 Brimah, Amida 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1994-02-11 Connecticut
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
G 10 Funk, Andrew 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-09-21 Penn State
G 21 Gillespie, Collin (TW) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-06-25 Villanova
C 30 Huff, Jay (TW) 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1997-08-25 Virginia
G 9 Irvin, Zak 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1994-09-05 Michigan
F 11 Key, Braxton (TW) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1997-02-14 Virginia
F 16 Pickett, Jamorko 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1997-12-24 Georgetown
G 7 Richardson, Will 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1999-09-03 Oregon
F 8 Smith, Chris 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-12-24 UCLA
G 1 Toney, Au'Diese 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1999-11-12 Arkansas
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
  • (C) Team captain
  • (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: October 18, 2023

Head coaches

# Head coach Term Regular season Playoffs Achievements
GWLWin%GWLWin%
1Reggie Geary2006–20081004654.460————
2Sam Vincent2008–2009501535.300————
3Dee Brown2009–20111002080.200————
4Bob MacKinnon Jr.2011–20131004753.470312.333
5Doug Overton2013–2014502228.440————
6Otis Smith2014–20161004456.440————
7Rex Walters2016–2017502624.520————
8Robert Werdann20171248.333————
9Ryan Krueger2017–2019885335.602202.000
10Donnie Tyndall2019–2020432518.581————
11Jason Terry2021–2022321715.531———–
12Andre Miller2022–present000–———

NBA affiliates

Anaheim Arsenal

Springfield Armor

Grand Rapids Drive

Grand Rapids Gold

References

  1. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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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