Watch the Bucks’ news conference below about their D-league team based in Oshkosh.
The Milwaukee Bucks have chosen the Wisconsin home of their new team, where growing talent will develop for their NBA roster.
Oshkosh has been chosen as the home for the NBA Developmental League team, currently called Fox Valley Basketball. It will start play in 2017-18. The team shared info on their web site, including graphical mock-ups of the arena.
“One of our goals is to build basketball in the state of Wisconsin…this will be our state’s game,” said Bucks president Peter Feigin.
“The thirst this community has had for a D-League team, to partner with the #Bucks has been overwhelming.”
An arena will be built in Oshkosh with 3,500 seats.
Oshkosh, Racine and Sheboygan were considered as the final three choices for a D-league franchise.
“What transformation means…joining the vision of what a professional team can do for a community,” said Feigin.
The team will include Bucks organization players under contract, along with players under contract with the NBA in general.
“For us to continue to develop toward a championship-caliber team…we have to have this,” said Bucks general manager John Hammond.
“(Oshkosh) is where we were supposed to be, where we wanted to be.”
The league will expand to 25 teams next year, including Oshkosh. 22 teams currently play in the D-League:
– Atlantic Division: Delaware (Dover), Erie, Greensboro, Long Island (Uniondale, NY), Maine (Portland) and Westchester
– Central Division: Canton, Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids, Raptors 905 (Mississauga, Canada) and Windy City (Hoffman Estates, Ill.)
– Pacific Division: Los Angeles, Northern Arizona (Prescott valley, Ariz.), Reno, Salt Lake City, Santa Cruz
– Southwest: Austin, Iowa (Des Moines), Oklahoma City, Rio Grande Valley (Edinburg, Tex.), Sioux Falls, Texas (Frisco)
“We are so excited to call Oshkosh part of our family of NBA D-League markets,” D-League pres. Malcom Turner said in the news conference.