A Day at NBA D-League: An Afternoon with the Los Angeles D-Fenders

In full 1970's Dr. Hoops glory - high socks, headbands, and high-tops - we strode toward the Staples Center in the midday Los Angeles sun on a Thursday this February. My friend and I had come to the Lakers' home four hours before the 7:30 tip-off not to watch Kobe Bryant but the dreamers hoping to be him one-day: the players of the NBA's D-League. The D-League - or more formally the NBA Development League - is the NBA's answer to baseball's minor leagues or football's NFL Europa, a place where young talent can develop their skills for big-time ball. Inaugurated in 2001, the D-League currently has 12 teams throughout the country, each of which is affiliated with one or more NBA teams.

The Los Angeles Lakers were the first NBA franchise to own a D-League team when they founded the D-Fenders in 2006. The D-Fenders, decked out in the same purple and gold as their famous cousins, play a few hours before Lakers night games or an hour after day games. Entrance to these games is free with tickets to same-day Lakers games. We hadn't come downtown to cheer on the home team that day, though, because the visiting Tulsa 66'ers had our favorite former USC Trojans basketball player on the roster. Desmon Farmer, with his trademark high socks, tireless energy, and continuous chest-thumping, provided many good memories for us Trojan fans. We figured it was only fair to pay him back by dressing in his honor and watching him toil in the backwaters of the NBA.

Braving the stares of Staples Center employees, we passed through the gates and into the arena's interior. Immediately, we saw Desmon in the team huddle and called out to him. He confusedly raised his hand in an awkward wave then tried his best to politely ignore us. It was at this point we realized that we were literally the only people on that side of the arena. My friend asked a red-coated Staples Center security guard where we could sit. It was obvious he didn't know, maybe he'd never been asked. To show some authority, he declared the courtside seats off-limits but said we had free reign everywhere else.