Franchise history Texas Legends

1 franchise history

1.1 colorado 14ers

1.1.1 2006–07 season
1.1.2 2007–08 season
1.1.3 2008–09 season


1.2 texas legends

franchise history
colorado 14ers

in 2006, colorado businessmen tim wiens , john frew, building broomfield event center centerpiece of arista development of broomfield, colorado, sought gain new minor league basketball team venue , surrounding community, believing minor league teams hit in northwest denver-boulder region. in february year, pair launched 2 sports teams, rocky mountain rage, minor-league hockey franchise, , colorado 14ers, continental basketball association club. however, 2 months later, 14ers entered nba development league , began play in 2006–07 season. franchise named after colorado s famed 14,000-foot mountain peaks.

2006–07 season

onetime denver nugget joe wolf hired 14ers inaugural coach, , management put 1 of d-league s formidable rosters. finding quick success in inaugural season, 14ers shattered colorado minor league basketball records of many kinds scoring fan attendance. team leaders included von wafer , louis amundson, each permanently called nba end of season. nevertheless, talented , resilient team overcame losing stretches , roster reorganizations, , qualified playoffs in first season. 14ers made impressive run through playoffs, winning western division title before losing championship game in overtime dakota wizards.

2007–08 season

the 14ers second season began entirely new roster, elton brown , eric osmundson remaining team s inaugural year. newcomers included area products kaniel dickens emerged 1 of top players on team, eddie gill, selected in draft, called nba before playing game 14ers (and returned become powerful force on team). kevin hill, picked in draft, canadian selected in 2007 draft. despite considerable roster turnover, included brown s departure impressive 5 call-ups nba (including rare simultaneous call-ups of dickens , billy thomas on february 22 cleveland cavaliers), 14ers fared did in first year, finishing regular season 1 more win in 2006–07. 14ers six-game winning streak @ end of season vaulted them playoffs wild card, lost in first round los angeles d-fenders. despite , slippage in fan attendance, overall successful season under @ times challenging circumstances.

2008–09 season

colorado s third season, of minor league basketball franchise in state, triumph on adversity. season began ownership increasingly falling upon hard times, having new coach, robert mackinnon, after joe wolf had ascended nba, , remade roster returnees eddie gill , billy thomas being joined jamar brown, played colorado crossover. newcomers dominique coleman , josh davis both major contributors, sonny weems, assigned denver nuggets 3 times contribute during regular season , playoffs. beginning, 14ers formidable force in d-league, pulling league lead wins , setting d-league record points in game 147–119 win on rio grande valley vipers on march 10, breaking record 155–127 win on albuquerque thunderbirds on april 8. finishing franchise-record 34 wins, 14ers had home court advantage throughout playoffs, soundly defeating erie bayhawks, rallying beat austin toros, , sweeping utah flash in finals claim 2008–09 d-league championship.

texas legends

on june 18, 2009, dallas mavericks executive donnie nelson purchased 14ers franchise , moved team frisco, texas. slated begin play in 2010–11 new nickname, colors , logo. on november 5, 2009, women s basketball pioneer nancy lieberman introduced legends head coach, becoming first woman lead men s professional basketball team. earning name of texas legends, team began play in 2010–11 d-league season out of dr pepper arena. along lieberman, legends hired few other notable basketball names front office in inaugural campaign, including president of basketball operations spud webb (1986 slam dunk champion) , general manager del harris (1995 nba coach of year).

the legends 1 of main attractions in 16-team league, seen on national tv on versus 3 times go along 2 appearances on fox sports southwest. texas played first game in franchise history in front of nationally televised crowd against rio grande valley vipers. after dropping opener, legends picked first victory in team history on november 26 against idaho stampede, 108–100. texas returned frisco much-anticipated inaugural home-opener on november 30. dazzled sold-out crowd scoring league record 84 points in first half of basketball on new home floor on way 135–112 win on cross-state rival austin toros. texas began season 5–1 record, best six-game start expansion team in league history. finished regular season 24–26 record, nancy lieberman guided texas playoffs, becoming third expansion team in league history make postseason. there eliminated in first round tulsa 66ers.

on october 4, 2011, del harris announced legends new head coach following departure of nancy lieberman. in lone season legends, harris guided team 24–26 record second straight year, time not enough playoff berth. between 2012 , 2015, legends guided former nba player eduardo nájera. however, unable lead team playoff berth in either of 3 seasons. on july 8, 2015, legends appointed nick van exel team s new head coach. stint lasted 1 season after being hired assistant coach memphis grizzlies in june 2016. replaced bob mackinnon jr., had been head coach when team won d-league championship in colorado.