NBA G-League Suburban Franchise Trend Continues – No, Grand Rapids Shouldn’t Be Worried

Another NBA G-League team has relocated to a suburban location near its pro-level franchise parent. It's a long-standing move in the world of minor league sports. Should the trend worry Michigan residents about the Grand Rapids Gold?

The suburban move happened nearby with a team well known to Grand Rapids fans, the former Indiana Mad Ants. The Mad Ants, who once placed in Fort Wayne, moved to Indianapolis and, recently (April 16, 2025), moves to suburban Noblesville, Indiana and will play as the Noblesville Boom - an ingenious reference to former Indiana Pacers color commentator Slick Leonard who used the phrase "Boom Baby" when the team hit a three-pointer.

There's something very interesting when you look at the teams in the G-League. Of the 30 teams that are aligned with an NBA franchise 28 of them are either in the metro area of the major league team or a closely adjacent city. (There are 31 G-League teams compared to 30 NBA teams. The G-League team in Mexico City is not affiliated with any NBA team.)

Only the Grand Rapids Gold and the Sioux Falls Skyforce in South Dakota are vastly geographically removed from their parent franchise.

The Grand Rapids Gold are affiliates of the Denver Nuggets - it's an 1164 mile trip from GR to Denver. That is far and away the 2nd largest distance between major and minor league team pairings. Only longer is the 1825 mile route between Sioux Falls to Miami.

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The Detroit Pistons G-League team, the Motor City Cruise, play right in Detroit at the Wayne State University Fieldhouse. This is a posterchild example of a minor league team straying just blocks from its parent.

There's absolutely no reason to think Grand Rapids will lose its G-League team. Owner SSJ Group's founder Steve Jbara is a West Michigan native. The company touts the Gold being a profitable endeavor with merch, sponsorships and tickets.

So will we see the Gold move to Colorado to a suburban Denver city like Aurora or an adjacent metro area like Fort Collins? It doesn't see likely.

Couple that with Van Andel arena mates Griffins in Hockey and Rise in pro volleyball along with a pending pro soccer franchise and the venerable West Michigan Whitecaps, there's little doubt that Grand Rapids is a strong player in minor league sports.

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It is more so a testament to the power of Grand Rapids that the city's hosting of a G-League franchise so far away from its parent being a successful