Texas Legends

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Texas Legends
Texas Legends logo
ConferenceWestern
LeagueNBA G League
Founded2006
HistoryColorado 14ers
2006–2009
Texas Legends
2010–present
ArenaComerica Center
LocationFrisco, Texas
Team colorsRoyal blue, navy blue, silver, white[1][2]
       
General managerTerry Sullivan[3]
Head coachJordan Sears[3]
OwnershipTexas D-League Management, LLC
Affiliation(s)Dallas Mavericks
Championships1 (2009)
Conference titles1 (2009)
Division titles1 (2009)
Websitetexas.gleague.nba.com

The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14ers in 2006, before relocating to Frisco in 2009 and becoming the Texas Legends for the 2010–11 season.

Franchise history

Colorado 14ers

In 2006, Colorado businessmen Tim Wiens and John Frew, who were building the

NBA Development League and began their first season.[5] The team was named after Colorado's 14,000-foot mountain peaks
.

2006–07 season

Louis Amundson, who joined the NBA by the end of the season. Despite losing streaks and roster reorganizations, the team qualified for the playoffs. The 14ers won the Western Division before losing the championship in overtime to the Dakota Wizards
.

2007–08 season

The 14ers' second season began with an almost new roster, with only

Los Angeles D-Fenders
.

2008–09 season

The 14ers' third season had the most consecutive seasons played by any minor league basketball franchise in Colorado. The season began with financial issues for the owners and a new coach, Robert MacKinnon.

Utah Flash
to become the D-League champions.

Texas Legends

On June 18, 2009, a Dallas Mavericks executive, Donnie Nelson, purchased the 14ers, and moved the team to Frisco, Texas. They played in 2010–11 with a new nickname, color, and logo.[6][7] On November 5, 2009, women's basketball pioneer Nancy Lieberman became the Legends' head coach, the first woman to lead a men's professional basketball team.[8] The team played in the 2010–11 season out of the Comerica Center.[9] The Legends hired other notable basketball professionals for their front office, including 1986 Slam Dunk Champion Spud Webb as president of basketball operations and 1995 NBA Coach of the Year Del Harris as general manager.[10]

Televised games introduced the Legends to fans of the 16-team league. They were on national TV during

Tulsa 66ers.[10]

After Nancy Lieberman, Del Harris was the head coach, starting October 4, 2011.[11] He coached the Legends for one season, had a 24–26 record for the second consecutive year, but did not make the playoffs. Between 2012 and 2015, the Legends' head coach was former NBA player Eduardo Nájera. The team did not make the playoffs while he was head coach. On July 8, 2015, the Legends hired Nick Van Exel as the head coach.[12] After one season, in June 2016, Exel left to be an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies.[13][14] He was replaced by Bob MacKinnon Jr.,[15] who had previously been the head coach when the 14ers won a D-League championship in Colorado.

Ownership

The team is owned by Texas D-League Management, LLC, which is principally owned by Donnie Nelson, former general manager and President of Basketball Operations for the Dallas Mavericks and son of former NBA head coach Don Nelson. The ownership group also includes Evan Wyly, Barry Aycock and Eduardo Nájera.[16]

Season by season

Season Division / Conference Finish Wins Losses Win% Playoffs
Colorado 14ers
2006–07
Western 2nd 28 22 .560 Won First Round (
Idaho) 94–91 (OT)
Lost D-League Finals (Dakota
) 121–129 (OT)
2007–08
Southwest 2nd 29 21 .580 Lost Semifinals (Los Angeles) 95–102
2008–09
Southwest 1st 34 16 .680 Won First Round (
Utah
) 2–0
Texas Legends
2009–10
Did not play
2010–11 Western 6th 24 26 .480 Lost First Round (
Tulsa
) 1–2
2011–12 Western 4th 24 26 .480
2012–13
Central 5th 21 29 .420
2013–14
Central 4th 24 26 .480
2014–15 Southwest 4th 22 28 .440
2015–16 Southwest 3rd 23 27 .460
2016–17 Southwest 5th 25 25 .500
2017–18 Southwest 3rd 29 21 .580 Lost First Round (Rio Grande Valley) 100–107
2018–19 Southwest 4th 16 34 .320
2019–20 Southwest 3rd 24 19 .558 Season cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 Opted out of single-site season
2021–22 Western 5th 19 15 .559 Won Conference Quarterfinal (Birmingham) 115–110
Lost Conference Semifinal (Rio Grande Valley) 103–120
2022–23 Western 15th 7 25 .219
Regular season 349 360 .492
Playoffs 7 5 .583

Players

Current roster

Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
F
8 Alatishe, Warith 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2000-01-22 Oregon State
F/C 5 Bradley, Tony 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 1998-01-08 North Carolina
F
13 Brown, Greg III (TW) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 2001-09-01 Texas
G
27 Clark, T. J. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 2003-11-24 Newton HS (GA)
F
31 Fudge, Alex (TW) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2003-06-05 Florida
G
17 Goldwire, Jordan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1999-06-18 Oklahoma
G
14 Hall, Tyler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1997-03-25 Montana State
F
44 Jackson, Justin 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1995-03-28 North Carolina
F
12 Lenard, Teafale (P) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-07-21 Middle Tennessee
G/F 60 Mayer, Matthew 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1999-09-23
Illinois
G
0 Miles, Mike Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-08-24 TCU
G/F 11 Pinson, Theo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 212 lb (96 kg) 1995-11-05 North Carolina
G
10 Stevenson, Erik 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-04-28 West Virginia
G
1 Williams, Brandon (TW) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-11-22 Arizona
Head coach
  • Jordan Sears
Assistant coach(es)

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: March 31, 2024

Awards

Impact Player of the Year

Rookie of the Year

Sportsmanship Award

All-D-League First Team

All-D-League Second Team

All-D-League Third Team

Coaches

# Head coach Term Regular season Playoffs Achievements
G W L Win% G W L Win%
1 Joe Wolf 2006–2008 100 57 43 .570 4 2 2 .500
2 Bob MacKinnon Jr. 2008–2009
2016–2019
200 104 96 .520 5 4 1 .800 D-League Championship:
2009
3 Nancy Lieberman 2010–2011 50 24 26 .480 3 1 2 .333 First woman to head coach a professional men's basketball team.
4 Del Harris 2011–2012 50 24 26 .480
5 Eduardo Nájera 2012–2015 150 67 83 .447 First Mexican-born head coach in the NBA system.
6 Nick Van Exel 2015–2016 50 23 27 .460
7 George Galanopoulos 2019–2023 109 50 59 .459 1 1 1 .500
8 Jordan Sears 2023–present

NBA affiliates

Texas Legends

Colorado 14ers

References

  1. ^ "Court Design". TexLegends.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  2. ^ "Texas Legends Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Wynn, Britney (July 25, 2023). "LEGENDS ANNOUNCE NEW GENERAL MANAGER AND HEAD COACH". NBA.com. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Cook, Sara (February 27, 2006). "Tabor receies [sic] its largest gift". MennoWorld.org. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  5. ^ "NBA Development League Expands To Four Cities". NBA.com. April 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 17, 2006. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  6. ^ "NBA Development League Team Comes to Frisco, Texas". NBA.com. June 18, 2009. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  7. ^ "NBA D-League team moving to Frisco". USAToday.com. June 18, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  8. ^ "Meet Nancy Lieberman". NBA.com. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  9. ^ Wigglesworth, Valerie (June 20, 2010). "Frisco's new D-League basketball team starts full-court press months before first game". DallasNews.com. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "TEXAS LEGENDS 2010-11 END OF SEASON RECAP". NBA.com. April 19, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  11. ^ "Texas Legends Name Del Harris Head Coach". NBA.com. October 4, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  12. ^ "Texas Legends Name Nick Van Exel Head Coach". NBA.com. July 5, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  13. ^ "Grizzlies announce additions to Coaching Staff". NBA.com. June 8, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  14. ^ "Getting to Know... Assistant Coach Nick Van Exel". NBA.com. June 8, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  15. ^ "Texas Legends to hire longtime coach Bob MacKinnon to replace Nick Van Exel | SportsDay". 2016-06-28. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  16. ^ "Owners Bio's". NBA.com. Retrieved April 28, 2016.

External links