Grand Rapids Gold

Grand Rapids Gold
2023–24 NBA G League season
Conference	Eastern
League	NBA G League
Founded	2006
History	Anaheim Arsenal 2006–2009 Springfield Armor 2009–2014 Grand Rapids Drive 2014–2021 Grand Rapids Gold 2021–present
Arena	Van Andel Arena
Location	Grand Rapids, Michigan
Team colors	Midnight blue, sunshine yellow,Flatironsred, white
President	Steve Jbara
Head coach	Andre Miller
Ownership	SSJ Group
Affiliation(s)	Denver Nuggets
Championships	0
Conference titles	0
Division titles	2(2012,2019)
Website	grandrapids.gleague.nba.com

TheGrand Rapids Goldare an American professional basketball team in theNBA G Leaguebased inGrand Rapids, Michigan,and are affiliated with theDenver Nuggets.The Gold play their home games atVan Andel Arena.They began play as theAnaheim Arsenalin 2006, before relocating toSpringfield, Massachusetts,in 2009, becoming theSpringfield Armor.After five seasons in Springfield, the franchise moved to Grand Rapids in 2014 and were subsequently renamed theGrand 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 theNBA Development League(NBA D-League). Based inAnaheim, California,and playing at theAnaheim Convention Center,the Arsenal were an affiliate of theAtlanta Hawks,Los Angeles Clippers,Orlando MagicandPortland Trail Blazers.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 toSpringfield, Massachusetts.

2009–2014: Springfield Armor

On July 29, 2009, it was announced thatDee Brownwould become the head coach.On September 2, the Armor picked first in the2009 NBA Development League Expansion Draft,selecting centerMarcus Campbell.The team ended their inaugural2009–10 seasonwith 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 the2019-20Northern Arizona Suns(.190); the2020-21Iowa Wolvesbroke the dubious record by going 2–13 for a percentage of.133 before the2023-24G League Ignitewent 2-32 to set a new mark for futility.

During the 2010–11 season, the Armor started by picking fifth in theD-League Draft,and selected La Salle'sVernon Goodridge.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.Brown was replaced soon after byBob MacKinnon Jr.During the 2010–11 season, the team was an affiliate of theNew Jersey Nets,New York KnicksandPhiladelphia 76ers.

For the 2011–12 season, the Armor entered into a single affiliation partnership with theBrooklyn 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 theHouston Rocketsand theRio Grande Valley Vipers.

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 toGrand Rapids, Michiganfor the2014–15 season.The Grand Rapids franchise would be locally owned and established a single-franchise "hybrid" affiliation with theDetroit Pistons.The affiliation between the Pistons and the Drive was the third between the two cities as theDetroit Red Wingsof theNational Hockey Leagueand theGrand Rapids Griffinsof theAmerican Hockey Leaguealso share an affiliation, as do theDetroit Tigersof theAmerican Leagueand theWest Michigan Whitecapsof theMidwest League.

The team launched a name-the-team contest shortly after the formal announcement. The contest produced four finalists:Drive,Chairmen,Horsepower,andBlue Racers.The community was encouraged to vote online in order to determine which of the four names would become the official team name.Out of those names, the Grand Rapids Drive was selected.

On July 29, 2020, the Pistons announced that the organization had officially purchased theNorthern Arizona Sunsfrom thePhoenix Sunsand were relocating the franchise toDetroitfor 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 the2020–21 season.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.

2021–present: Grand Rapids Gold

On April 27, 2021, the Drive announced a new affiliation agreement with theDenver Nuggets.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.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.On August 19, the Gold namedJason Terryas its new head coach.

With theDeltaPlex Arenaset 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 withVan Andel Arenato serve as their new home.

Season-by-season

Season	Division	Regular season				Postseason results
		Finish	Wins	Losses	Pct.
Anaheim Arsenal
2006–07	Western	4th	23	27	.460
2007–08	Western	4th	23	27	.460
2008–09	Western	6th	15	35	.300
Springfield Armor
2009–10	Eastern	7th	7	43	.140
2010–11	Eastern	6th	13	37	.260
2011–12	Eastern	1st	29	21	.580	Lost First Round (Canton) 1–2
2012–13	Eastern	5th	18	32	.360
2013–14	Eastern	3rd	22	28	.440
Grand Rapids Drive
2014–15	Central	4th	23	27	.460
2015–16	Central	4th	21	29	.420
2016–17	Central	4th	26	24	.520
2017–18	Central	2nd	29	21	.580	Lost First Round (Raptors) 88–92
2018–19	Central	1st	28	22	.560	Lost First Round (Raptors) 90–91
2019–20	Central	3rd	25	18	.581	Season cancelled byCOVID-19 pandemic
2020–21	Opted out of single-site season
Grand Rapids Gold
2021–22	Eastern	7th	17	15	.531
2022–23	Eastern	14th	9	23	.281
Regular season record			328	429	.433	2006–present
Playoff record			1	4	.200	2006–present

Current roster

Grand Rapids Gold roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G — Alexander, Trey(TW) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-05-02 Creighton F 45 Baker, Joey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-09-13 Michigan G 0 Boum, Souley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-01-26 Xavier 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 C 30 Huff, Jay(TW, FA) 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1997-08-25 Virginia F 11 Key, Braxton(TW, FA) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1997-02-14 Virginia G 10 Mondy, Duke 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1990-12-02 Oakland G 7 Richardson, Will 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1999-09-03 Oregon 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 Andre Miller Assistant coach(es) Travess Armenta (Associate HC) David Adkins Jimmie Oakman Legend (DP)Unsigned draft pick (FA)Free agent (S)Suspended (P)Prospects (NBA)On assignment from NBA affiliate (TW)Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: July 3, 2024

Head coaches

#	Head coach	Term	Regular season				Playoffs				Achievements
			G	W	L	Win%	G	W	L	Win%
1	Reggie Geary	2006–2008	100	46	54	.460	—	—	—	—
2	Sam Vincent	2008–2009	50	15	35	.300	—	—	—	—
3	Dee Brown	2009–2011	100	20	80	.200	—	—	—	—
4	Bob MacKinnon Jr.	2011–2013	100	47	53	.470	3	1	2	.333
5	Doug Overton	2013–2014	50	22	28	.440	—	—	—	—
6	Otis Smith	2014–2016	100	44	56	.440	—	—	—	—
7	Rex Walters	2016–2017	50	26	24	.520	—	—	—	—
8	Robert Werdann	2017	12	4	8	.333	—	—	—	—
9	Ryan Krueger	2017–2019	88	53	35	.602	2	0	2	.000
10	Donnie Tyndall	2019–2020	43	25	18	.581	—	—	—	—
11	Jason Terry	2021–2022	32	17	15	.531	—	—	—	–
12	Andre Miller	2022–present	0	0	0	–	—	—	—

NBA affiliates

Anaheim Arsenal

• Atlanta Hawks(2006–2009)
• Los Angeles Clippers(2006–2009)
• Orlando Magic(2006–2008)
• Portland Trail Blazers(2006–2007)

Springfield Armor

• New Jersey / Brooklyn Nets(2009–2014)
• New York Knicks(2009–2011)
• Philadelphia 76ers(2009–2011)

Grand Rapids Drive

• Detroit Pistons(2014–2021)

Grand Rapids Gold

• Denver Nuggets(2021–present)

External links

• Official team website