Short for the
National Basketball Development League. The NBDL starts play in November 2001 and will serve as
NBA's
minor league.
The inaugural season will have 8 teams, playing a 56-game schedule from November through March.
In order to try to prevent an influx of high school players, players must be 20 years or older to play in the league. However, 18 and 19 year olds who were drafted by an NBA team and later released will also be allowed in the league.
The eight initial teams will all be in the southeastern United States.
Team locations will be:
The league will be run by the NBA. However, individual teams will not be affiliated with specific NBA teams.
A quick Yahoo search shows that NBDL is also short for the National Biodynamics Laboratory at the University of New Orleans.