Northern Arizona Suns

Northern Arizona Suns
League NBA Development League
Founded 2006
History Bakersfield Jam
2006–2016
Northern Arizona Suns
2016–present
Arena Prescott Valley Event Center
Location Prescott Valley, Arizona
Team colors Orange, purple, gray, black, white[1]
                        
President Chris Presson
General manager Bubba Barrage
Head coach Tyrone Ellis
Ownership Phoenix Suns
Affiliation(s) Phoenix Suns
Championships 0
Division / Conference titles 1 (2013)
Website nazsuns.com

The Northern Arizona Suns are an NBA Development League team based in Prescott Valley, Arizona and the minor league affiliate of the Phoenix Suns. The franchise began as the Bakersfield Jam in 2006, and after 10 years in Bakersfield, California, the franchise was moved to Prescott Valley in 2016 by the Phoenix Suns and were subsequently renamed the Northern Arizona Suns.

History

Bakersfield Jam (2007–2016)

In 2007, there was a contest where the fans could decide on a new name for the team. The choices were to rename the team Desperados, Roughnecks, Oilers, or keep the name Jam. On Thursday, May 17, the team announced that the team will remain the Bakersfield Jam, as that name won the poll in a landslide vote. After the contest, the Jam unveiled a new scheme for the logo. They replaced the blue to red.[2]

On April 29, 2009, it was reported that the Jam had ceased operations, citing lack of sufficient fan attendance. However, on June 18, the Jam announced that they had not shut down and plan to play in the 2009–10 season, with further details to come the following day.[3]

On April 30, 2014, it was reported that the Jam would enter a hybrid operation with the Phoenix Suns. Not only would that lead to the Suns having exclusive collaborations with the team, but it would also allow the Jam to operate under their own management in the process. On May 9, it was confirmed that the Suns and the Jam would agree to working under a hybrid affiliation.[4] Four days later, the Jam completed their transition by allowing Suns scout Bubba Barrage to be the team's newest general manager and letting Nate Bjorkgren coach the Jam in place of Will Voigt.[5] Since the Dignity Health Event Center seated only 500, the team did not sell individual general admission tickets and were sold to season ticket holders only.

On May 29, 2015, it was announced that Nate Bjorkgren would leave the Jam to take part in the Suns' organization as a leading player development and assistant coach.[6] Three months later, former NBA coach Chris Jent would be the newest head coach for the Jam.

Move to Prescott Valley

On April 12, 2016, the Phoenix Suns announced that the organization had officially purchased the Jam and were relocating the franchise to the town of Prescott Valley, Arizona for the 2016–17 season, where the team would be known as the Northern Arizona Suns.[7] In response, the previous owners of the Jam franchise, Stan Ellis and David Higdon, announced that they have been working with the D-League in securing a new franchise and affiliation before the 2016–17 season.[8] On May 2, it was announced that former Arizona Sundogs and current Arizona Rattlers president, Chris Presson, would become the new team president for the Suns. The new team logo and jerseys for Northern Arizona would be officially unveiled on May 11, 2016.[9][10] The new front office personnel and coaching staff would officially be unveiled on August 16, 2016.[11]

Season-by-season record

Season League Division Finish Wins Losses Pct. Postseason Results
Bakersfield Jam
2006–07 D-League Western 6th 19 31 .380
2007–08 D-League Western 5th 11 39 .220
2008–09 D-League Western 3rd 26 24 .520 Lost Round 1 (Utah) 0–1
2009–10 D-League Western 8th 17 33 .340
2010–11 D-League Western 4th 29 21 .580 Lost Round 1 (Rio Grande Valley) 2–1
2011–12 D-League Western 3rd 28 22 .560 Won Round 1 (Dakota) 2–0
Lost Semifinals (Los Angeles) 0–2
2012–13 D-League Western 1st 36 14 .720 Lost Round 1 (Austin) 0–2
2013–14 D-League Western 5th 24 26 .480
2014–15 D-League Western 2nd 34 16 .680 Lost Round 1 (Austin) 1–2
2015–16 D-League Western 3rd 22 28 .440
Northern Arizona Suns
2016–17 D-League Western — — .000
Regular season 246 254 .492
Playoffs 4 9 .308
Regular season and Playoffs combined 250 263 .487

Current roster

Northern Arizona Suns roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
F 9 Alexander, Daniel (I) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1991–07–18 Grand Canyon
C 4 Bakumanya, Gracin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1997–07–27 Pantego Christian Academy (TX)
G 6 Booker, Askia 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1993–08–31 Colorado
G 33 Bryson, Michael 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1994–09–30 UC Santa Barbara
F 11 Cooke, Derek 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1991–08–23 Wyoming
G 5 Gray, Josh 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1993–09–09 LSU
G 3 Harrison, Shaquille 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1993–10–06 Tulsa
F 1 Jones, Derrick (NBA) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997–02–15 UNLV
G 7 Millsap, Elijah 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1987–08–12 Alabama–Birmingham
F/C 24 O'Bryant, Johnny 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1993–06–01 LSU
G 13 Silas, Xavier 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1988–01–22 Northern Illinois
G 23 Woods, Asaad 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1992–06–27 Limestone
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Bret Burchard
  • Tyler Gatlin
  • Brandon Rosenthal
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (NBA) On assignment from NBA affiliate
  • (I) Inactive
  • Injured

Roster • Transactions
Last transaction: 2016–12–02

Former players

Players assigned by NBA teams

Players recalled by NBA teams

Affiliates

Current
Former

References

  1. ↑ "Northern Arizona Suns Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Media Central. May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  2. ↑ Bakersfield To Keep Jammin'
  3. ↑ The Jam is not toast after all
  4. ↑ Phoenix Suns to use D-League Bakersfield as affiliate
  5. ↑ Phoenix Suns to "make experience seamless" between Suns and D-League's Jam by using same system
  6. ↑ http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2015/05/29/phoenix-suns-coaching-staff-jeff-hornacek-kenny-gattison/28170329/
  7. ↑ "Phoenix Suns Buy Bakersfield Jam; Relocate Team to Prescott Valley, Arizona". OurSports Central. April 12, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Phoenix Suns Purchase Bakersfield Jam". OurSports Central. April 12, 2016.
  9. ↑ Petersen, Matt (May 11, 2016). "New Logo, Uniforms Cement Suns' D-League Presence in Prescott Valley". Phoenix Suns. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  10. ↑ Kotloff, Brian (May 10, 2016). "Northern Arizona Suns Unveil Logo and Uniforms". NBA Development League. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  11. ↑ http://northernarizona.dleague.nba.com/news/northern-arizona-suns-announce-basketball-staff/
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