Los Angeles D-Fenders - History, Season Results, and Player Highlights

History, Season Results, and Player Highlights

In their debut season (2006-2007) the D-Fenders competed in the Western Division and finished with a 23-27 record. Despite a sub 500 record the D-Fenders almost qualified for the playoffs. Dan Panaggio (formerly Assistant Head Coach for the Portland Trailblazers) served as head coach Brian Chase received an All D-League Honorable Mention and was selected for the D-League All-Star Game. Stephane Lasme received the D-Fenders first ever "call up" to the NBA's Miami Heat.

D-Fender games were played as "doubleheaders" with their parent club, the Los Angeles Lakers (either prior to or following Laker games). Admission tickets to Laker games also admitted one to the D-Fender game. On April 1, 2007, Jordan Farmar became the first player in history to play in an NBA game and a D-League game in the same day.

In the 2007-2008 season, Panaggio returned as head coach.

The D-Fenders improved to 32-18, strong enough to qualify for the playoffs. In the first round, the D-Fenders earned their first playoff victory after defeating the Western Conference Champion Colorado 14ers. In the second round the D-Fenders lost to the Idaho Stampede (who went on to win the D-League Championship). Stephane Lasme shared the D-League Defensive Player of the Year Award and received an All D-League Honorable Mention. Lasme was also selected for the All-Star Game. Jelani McCoy was named All D-League Third Team and selected to the All-Star Game. McCoy also received a "call-up" to the NBA to play for the Denver Nuggets. Panaggio was name as the All-Star Head Coach. Coby Karl, son of NBA Coach George Karl, became the 2nd player in history to play in an NBA game and a D-League game in the same day.

The D-Fenders continued to play home games before or after a Lakers' game at Staples Center.

In 2008-2009, Panaggio returned for his third and final year as head coach. The D-Fenders posted a disappointing 19-31 record. One highlight showcased Orien Green making eight steals in one game against Utah (December 1, 2009). Joe Crawford received an All D-League Honorable Mention and was "called up" to the NBA to play for the New York Knicks. Rookie guard Sun Yue became the 3rd Lakers player to play for the D-Fenders.

For the first time the D-Fenders played several of their home games at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in nearby Ontario, California. This marked the first time that admission for D-Fenders' home games was charged solely for the D-Fenders as the main attraction. Attendance averaged approximately 1,500 paid sales per game. The D-Fenders continued to play occasional home games at Staples Center and eventually signed a long term contract with Staples Center for the remainder of the third season and beyond.

For the 2009-2010 season, the D-Fenders brought in a "new" coach Chucky Brown For Brown, this served a bit as a homecoming as Brown previously served as the Assistant Head Coach in the D-Fenders' inaugural season. Unfortunately, the experiment did not work out as the D-Fenders posted a record of 16-34. This season marked the first time the D-Fenders had no assignments or call-ups from the NBA. Joe Crawford and Diamon Simpson were selected for the All-Star Game. Crawford was also a participant in the All-Star Weekend H-O-R-S-E Contest. Dar Tucker was named All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Champion.

In May 2010, the D-Fenders announced that they would not field a team for the 2010–2011 season. While the Lakers retained team ownership the D-Fenders took this time to perform some housecleaning. Coach Brown's contract was not renewed and Assistant General Manager Bonnie Jill Laflin was released.

In the absence of the D-Fenders fielding a team, the Lakers affiliated with the Bakersfield Jam who also have as an affiliate the Los Angeles Clippers.

On June 9, 2011, the D-Fenders announced they would return for the 2011-2012 and play home games at a new location: the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo. The facility offers a unique intimate setting to watch top talent as only 362 seats are available for public sale and no seat is further than six rows from the court. This good news was tempered by the looming NBA lockout and a desire by the Laker organization to cut overhead. One early casualty was D-Fender General Manager (and Lakers Assistant General Manager) Ronnie Lester. Lester, who had a 24 year association with the Lakers, could not come to terms with the Lakers. His contract expired and was not renewed along with some other 20 Laker staffers.

Glenn Carraro, the remaining D-Fender Assistant General Manager was promoted to General Manager. Thereafter, on August 18, 2011, the D-Fenders announced Eric Musselman as their new head coach. Among Musselman's body of work is previous service as head coach for the NBA Sacramento Kings and head coach for the NBA Golden State Warriors.

The NBA lockout began and the "world famous" Los Angeles Laker Girls, who had been practicing all summer for their upcoming Laker game performances, now had no audience. The Laker organization decided the Laker Girls will perform at the D-Fender home games for the duration of the season.

With a new general manager, a new head coach, and the excitement of the Laker Girls, the D-Fenders had a breakout season. The D-Fenders posted a regular season record of 38-12, an all-time best regular season record for the D-League that stands through today. Gerald Green was named the All-Star Game MVP. Two of the top five D-League season scoring averages were held by D-Fenders: Brandon Costner (20.3 ppg) and Elijah Millsap (19.4 ppg). Millsap also averaged 1.9 steals per game (5th best in the D-League). Courtney Fortson averaged 6.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game (both 3rd best in the D-League). Malcom Thomas averaged 9.1 rebounds per game and a field goal percentage of .619 (both 3rd best in the D-League). Thomas also averaged 2.3 blocks per game (2nd best in the D-League) and was named to the All D-League First Team. Thomas also was named to the All D-League Rookie First Team. Zach Andrews achieved a season field goal percentage of .647 (2nd best in the D-League). Both Courtney Fortson and Elijah was named to the All D-League Second Team. Brandon Costner was named All D-League Third Team. Zach Andrews received an All D-League Honorable Mention. A team record four D-Fenders were selected for the All Star Gaem: Zach Andrews, Brandon Costner, Gerald Green, and Elijah Millsap. Green was also named the MVP of the All-Star Game. Andrews was an All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Participant.

Concluding regular season play, the D-Fenders breezed through the first and second rounds of the playoffs undefeated, easily winning the Western Conference Title. In the finals, the D-fenders took game 1 but dropped the next two games to fall to the Austin Toros. To cap off this historic season, Musselman was named D-League Coach of the Year and the front office earned the first ever NBA Development League Championship Award (an annual recognition award given to the team that best embodies the NBA D-League's goal of developing NBA basketball talent via call-ups and/or assignments).

In total, a record 6 D-Fender players were "called-up" 11 times to the NBA during the 2011-2012 season: Courtney Fortson, Gerald Green, Jamario Moon, Ishmael Smith, Malcolm Thomas, and Jamaal Tinsley.

For the 2012-13 campaign, the D-Fenders have a new head coach, former NBA Sacramento Kings Head Coach Reggie Theus. The D-Fenders will play a 50 game regular season of which 25 games are scheduled as home games. The Laker Girls have decided to stay on and once again are performing at all home games. As of December 27, 2012, the D-Fenders are 5-4.