The G League will expand in Mexico City
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, The NBA G League will launch its new franchise in Mexico City next season, The team’s nickname is the Capitanes.
Nick Lagios, who has worked for the Lakers‘ South Bay affiliate since 2016, will serve as their GM, Charania adds. Lagios expressed his excitement about running the franchise in an Instagram post, writing:
“It’s an absolute dream to be named the first GM of the Mexico City Capitanes. We will play in the (G League) starting next season. This is the first Mexican team ever in a USA sports league, which is an honor to be a part of. I hope we can make all of Mexico and Latin America proud and elevate basketball within central and South America. Laker family, I will miss you all but I won’t be leaving L.A. quite yet!!”
The original announcement that the NBA would add a G League franchise in Mexico City was made in December 2019. The pandemic pushed back the inaugural season by one year. The Capitanes will play their home games at Gimnasio Juan de la Barrera, an arena that holds about 5,000 fans, and will spend at least the next five years in the G League. They won’t be affiliated with a specific NBA franchise.
The G League has yet to announce the schedule for the upcoming season.
