National Basketball Association

Suns buy D-League team, relocate it to Prescott Valley

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:40 p.m. ET

foxsports

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns, NBA Development League and Town of Prescott Valley announced today that the Suns have acquired the Bakersfield Jam and are relocating the team to Prescott Valley.

The team will be known as the Northern Arizona Suns and will play a 24-game home schedule at the 5,100-seat Prescott Valley Event Center (PVEC) beginning with the 2016-17 season.

The Suns become the 15th NBA team to own and operate its NBA D-League affiliate.

"We are thrilled to bring professional basketball to the Town of Prescott Valley," said Suns President Jason Rowley. "In addition to the basketball advantages of our D-League affiliate being close to home, today's announcement creates endless opportunities to strengthen the connection with our fans in northern Arizona."

The Bakersfield Jam has served as the Suns' single-affiliate NBA D-League team the past two seasons, with the NBA franchise running basketball operations during that time. The Suns will now assume business operations for the organization, with the new team serving as an extension of the Phoenix Suns brand in northern Arizona.

Fans interested in season tickets can guarantee their seats with a $50 deposit at NAZSuns.com or over the phone at 928-772-SUNS. The team is also hosting a sweepstakes on its new website where fans can enter to win lifelong season tickets. All additional information about the club can be found at NAZSuns.com.

Suns interim head coach Earl Watson and assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren both began their coaching careers in the NBA D-League, while six members of the current Suns team have NBA D-League experience. The team has assigned 15 players for development to the NBA D-League since 2001.