The NBA G League announced the full game schedule for the upcoming 2024-25 season in a press release on Tuesday. The new season will commence on Friday, Nov. 8. 

With the addition of a Phoenix Sun’s affiliate, known as the Valley Suns, this is the first season all 30 NBA teams own an affiliate team in the G League. There will be 31 total teams in the G League, with the Mexico City Capitanes being the only team not affiliated with a single NBA team. 

For the fourth season, the G League schedule will be split into two parts. The first will feature a 16-game tournament called the Tip-Off Tournament, formerly known as the Showcase Cup. It will take place throughout November, leading up to the Winter Showcase in December. 

The 31 G League teams are divided into four regions, deciding who they will compete against throughout Novemeber. The top four finishers from each region, along with the next four teams with the highest winning percentage regardless of region, will advance to the Winter Showcase in Orlando, Florida. Each team will play at least two games in the showcase. 

After the Winter Showcase, the league will begin a 34-game regular season. Each team is guaranteed to compete in at least 50 games across the tournament and season. 

For the South Bay Lakers, the Tip-Off Tournament will begin on Saturday, Nov. 9 against the Salt Lake City Stars. The Lakers and Utah Jazz affiliates will meet in El Segundo, California at the UCLA Health Training Center at 5 p.m. PT. 

The South Bay Lakers are in the West region and scheduled to play seven different teams throughout the tournament, including the Salt Lake City Stars, Santa Cruz Warriors, Stockton Kings, San Diego Clippers, Rip City Remix, Valley Suns, and Cleveland Charge. This is nearly an identical lineup to last season, with the Valley Suns replacing the disbanded G League ignite and the addition of the Cleveland Charge.

Last season, the South Bay Lakers did not qualify for the tournament but played two consolation games in the Winter Showcase. They lost to the Osceola Magic in the first game, but defeated the Delaware Blue Coats the following game.

Team records will be reset after the Tip-Off Tournament for the regular season, which is scheduled to begin on Dec. 27. The top six teams in each conference will qualify for the NBA playoffs, with a chance to compete in the NBA G League Finals in April 2025.

The South Bay Lakers’ first regular season game will be against the Cleveland Charge at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio on Friday, Dec. 27.

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