Los Angeles D-Fenders

Los Angeles D-Fenders
Founded	2006
History	Los Angeles D-Fenders (2006-Present)
Arena	Staples Center
City	Los Angeles, California
Team Colors	Purple, Gold
Head Coach	Chucky Brown
Owner	Los Angeles Lakers
Championships	0
Division Titles	None
Affiliations	Los Angeles Lakers
Website	www.nba.com/dleague/losangeles/

The Los Angeles D-Fenders are an NBA Development League (D-League) team based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2006, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, which became the first National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise to own a D-League team. Like the parent club, they play their home games at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.^[1]

In 2008, the team was scheduled to move to the Citizens Business Bank Arena in nearby Ontario, California which was completed that year and is also operated by AEG Worldwide. However, the D-Fenders changed their minds and signed with Staples Center for a third season.^[2]

The team's home games are played in doubleheaders with the Lakers. Normal game times are 3:30 p.m. on weekdays and 2:30 p.m. on weekends. Admission tickets to Lakers game also are good for D-Fenders games. Lakers management has admitted that the D-Fenders will likely lose several million dollars per year, but claims the potential to develop future NBA talent is worth the investment.

All games are broadcast in streaming audio from the team's official website (see below).

History

The name was chosen in a "name the team" contest with an unusual format. As with the NCAA tournament bracket, the site featured 64 possible team names. By the first week of June 2006, only the D-Fenders and Breakers remained as finalists. On June 5, 2006, balloting closed. Three days later, the team was supposed to announce its new name, but did not do so. The name "Breakers" had won the poll, but the Lakers learned that a local dwarf basketball team has the same name and therefore they fell back on the "losing" nickname in the contest. The official announcement, and logo unveiling, came on July 26, 2006.

In their debut in the 2006-07 season, they would finish with a 23-27 record, almost qualified for the playoffs, but failed.

In the 2008 season, they would post a 32-16 record, good enough to head for the playoffs. In the first round, Los Angeles would earn their first playoff victory after defeating the Western Conference's champion Colorado 14ers. Later, they would lose to the Idaho Stampede, who went on to win their first championship in the D-League.

Personalities

• Both Jordan Farmar and Coby Karl have played on two different occasions for both the D-Fenders and the Lakers on the same day.^[3][4]

• Actress, model, and former cheerleader Bonnie-Jill Laflin is currently the D-Fenders' assistant general manager and a scout for the Lakers.

Year-by-year record

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Win–Loss %

Current Roster

Los Angeles D-Fenders Current Roster
Head Coach: Chucky Brown
Pos.	#	Players	Height	Weight	From
F	44	Clark, Keith	6' 8"	245 lbs.	Oklahoma
G	14	Crawford, Joe	6' 5"	210 lbs.	Kentucky
F	42	Cuic, Sasha	6' 10"	240 lbs.	Oregon State
C	00	Fey, Michael	7' 0"	270 lbs.	UCLA
F	33	Forehan-Kelly, Ryan	6' 6"	195 lbs.	California
G	17	McKenzie, Lawrence	6' 2"	190 lbs.	Minnesota
G	15	Pruitt, Gabe	6' 4"	170 lbs.	USC
G	N/A	Robinson, Frank	6' 4"	200 lbs.	Cal State Fullerton
F	34	Simpson, Diamon	6' 7"	230 lbs.	St. Mary's (CA)
G	22	Tucker, Dar	6' 4"	205 lbs.	DePaul
Updated on December 23, 2009[1]

Notes

External links

• Official Website