For those who may not know the Santa Cruz Warriors are the G-League affiliate for the reigning NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors.
Did you know the Golden State Warriors and Santa Cruz Warriors weren’t always located where they currently are?
Many of the organizations in the NBA G-League were a part of many leagues prior to entering and settling in the NBA G-League. Santa Cruz is no different. The Santa Cruz Warriors we see today have been years in the making so on this edition of TimeOut, I am going to dive into Santa Cruz Warriors (North Dakota Wizards) history.
The team was first established in 1995 and was named the North Dakota Wizards.
Under the ownership of Bill Sorensen, the Wizards debuted in the inaugural season of the International Basketball Association (IBA) and was a part of the association until 2001. During their stint in the IBA, they won one championship in 2001 with coach Dave Joerger.
Name sounds familiar?
If you want to find him, he is with the Sacramento Kings.
In Fall 2001, the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and International Basketball League (IBL) joined forces with the IBA and the Wizards joined the then NBA minor league the CBA and won championships in 2002 and 2004.
In 2006, the Wizards joined the then NBA Developmental League after an inconsistent run in the CBA and won the D League championship in 2007.
The Wizards became the affiliate for the Memphis Grizzles and the Washington Wizards from July 2007 until Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the team in the summer of 2011 and made it the official affiliate for the Golden State Warriors.
After seventeen years in Bismarck, the Wizards relocated to Santa Cruz was rebranded as the Santa Cruz Warriors in 2012. The move was the result of an NBA initiative to better the rapport between the NBA team and its minor league affiliate.
Now, the training ground for many of the Golden State Warriors up-and-coming players, Santa Cruz gives ample opportunity to many players from many countries and age groups.