NBA G-League 01/07 00:00 1 Capitanes v Rip City Remix W 132-124
NBA G-League 12/29 02:00 1 Capitanes v Texas Legends L 111-112
NBA G-League 12/28 02:00 1 Capitanes v Texas Legends W 120-114
NBA G-League 12/21 18:30 48 Motor City Cruise v Capitanes W 100-115
NBA G-League 12/19 21:00 3 Westchester Knicks v Capitanes L 114-104
NBA G-League 12/17 00:00 1 Lakeland v Capitanes L 130-108
NBA G-League 12/14 02:00 1 Capitanes v Oklahoma City Blue L 112-117
NBA G-League 12/10 22:00 1 Capitanes v Oklahoma City Blue W 109-96
NBA G-League 12/06 02:00 1 Capitanes v Austin Spurs W 119-108
NBA G-League 12/03 22:00 1 Capitanes v Austin Spurs W 155-109
NBA G-League 12/02 01:30 1 Rio Grande v Capitanes L 110-104
NBA G-League 12/01 01:30 1 Rio Grande v Capitanes W 109-111
NBA G-League 11/26 01:30 1 Texas Legends v Capitanes W 84-117
NBA G-League 11/25 01:30 1 Texas Legends v Capitanes W 116-119
NBA G-League 11/21 01:00 1 Memphis Hustle v Capitanes W 104-124
NBA G-League 11/19 19:00 1 Memphis Hustle v Capitanes L 105-101
NBA G-League 11/14 02:00 1 Capitanes v Birmingham Squadron L 102-108
NBA G-League 11/12 22:00 1 Capitanes v Birmingham Squadron L 103-108
NBA G-League 11/11 02:00 1 Capitanes v Lakeland W 108-97
NBA G-League 03/24 18:00 1 Stockton Kings v Capitanes L 116-104
NBA G-League 03/23 02:00 1 Stockton Kings v Capitanes L 117-115
NBA G-League 03/21 02:00 1 Capitanes v Birmingham Squadron L 98-111
NBA G-League 03/20 00:00 1 Capitanes v Birmingham Squadron W 124-115
NBA G-League 03/16 23:00 1 Greensboro Swarm v Capitanes L 118-107
NBA G-League 03/15 23:00 1 Greensboro Swarm v Capitanes W 116-122
NBA G-League 03/13 00:00 1 Capitanes v Windy City Bulls L 105-112
NBA G-League 03/07 02:00 1 Capitanes v Capital City Go-Go L 90-109
NBA G-League 03/06 00:00 1 Capitanes v Capital City Go-Go W 122-107
NBA G-League 02/28 02:00 1 Capitanes v Agua Caliente Clippers W 109-105
NBA G-League 02/27 00:00 1 Capitanes v Agua Caliente Clippers L 96-103

Wikipedia - Mexico City Capitanes

The Mexico City Capitanes (Spanish: Capitanes de Ciudad de México) are a Mexican professional basketball team based in Mexico City. The Capitanes competed as a member club in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) for the first three seasons and the franchise is currently a member of the NBA G League. The team plays their home games in the Mexico City Arena.

The Capitanes were established before the 2017–18 season, after the Mexican capital had been without a basketball team for a decade.

In December 2019, the National Basketball Association's commissioner Adam Silver announced that the Capitanes would be joining the league's developmental league, the NBA G League, for at least five seasons beginning in the 2020–21 season. However, following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, no mention was made of the Capitanes participating in the league's 2021 bubble season, with the team announcing it would instead join in the 2021–22 season.

History

Foundation

The Mexican capital had lacked a competitive basketball team for a decade. In an attempt of reanimating the passion for basketball in Mexico City, a group of investors led by Moisés Cosío, announced the foundation of this new franchise. The group of investors accepted that the situation was challenging but Jordi Funtanet, the director of marketing and communications for the new team said that it was also a very big opportunity. It was the first Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) team not economically linked to the Mexican government and with total private investment.

The players who were to be brought into this new franchise were to be a solid base from the national team, and more experienced players from abroad.

The first seasons at the LNBP

The management stated that the team's goal for the season was to qualify for the playoffs with an aim for at least the semifinals. The head coach for the season was the Spaniard Ramón Díaz, who had previously been involved with the National Team, as an assistant coach. The state of the Gimnasium was improved, including dressing rooms, and the playing surface.

Their first preseason game ended in defeat against an amateur side. Their first official game was played on October 13, and ended in a 90–87 win for the Capitanes, against the Aguacateros de Michoacán. Their first season went well; they won 21 out of their first 30 matches, with an offense commanded by Pedro Meza, Fernando Bénitez, and Emmanuel Ándujar, who all received call-ups to the All Star game in early December, along with head coach Ramón Díaz. By the end of the season, the Capitanes would not only reach their goal of making it to the Playoffs and reach the semifinals after beating the Correbasket UAT 3–2, but would reach as far as the championship round after beating Fuerza Regia de Monterrey 4–1. However, they would fall short in winning the LNBP championship by losing to the Soles de Mexicali 4–1.

In their second season of existence, the Capitanes would not only finish the season with a slightly better overall record at 27–13 (which left them with the best record in the LNBP this time around), but they also would repeat their return to the LNBP championship round after not only sweeping the Abejas de León in the first round, but also avenging their championship series loss against the Soles by winning 4–2 in the semifinal round. However, they once again fell short in winning the championship after Fuerza Regia de Monterrey would avenge their playoff loss to the Capitanes last season by winning the championship 4–2.

For what turned out to be their final season at the LNBP, the Capitanes would finish with a slightly worst regular season record than their first two seasons of existence at 25–11, which was still good enough for a second-place finish. However, unlike their first two seasons, the Capitanes would end up bowing out of the league entirely by losing to the Aguacateros de Michoacán 4–1 in the quarterfinals round.

NBA G League

In December 2019, commissioner Adam Silver of the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced Capitanes were joining the NBA G League. The initial plan was starting from the 2020–21 season, the team would play in the G League for five seasons in order to test the potential market of a future Mexico-based NBA team and be the first team outside the United States and Canada. However, due the restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was postponed and eventually played at a single site in Orlando, Florida, for an abbreviated 2021 season without the Capitanes. The team announced it still planned to join the G League in 2021–22, with five seasons in the G League still planned to be under way for the Capitanes. On May 7, 2021, Nick Lagios was named the team's general manager. Due to the ongoing travel restrictions during the pandemic, the Capitanes were only scheduled to play 12 games in the 2021 G League Showcase Cup with all games in the United States. The team was temporarily based in Fort Worth, Texas, for the season so players did not have to cross the border during the restrictions, though they would have different, temporary home arenas set up for that season for an equivalent of home games with the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi, the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas far south of Fort Worth, the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

On November 5, 2021, the Capitanes defeated the Memphis Hustle 95–90 in their first official G League game. During their inaugural G League season, three of the Capitanes' players were called up to NBA teams: Gary Clark to the New Orleans Pelicans, Alfonzo McKinnie to the Chicago Bulls, and Matt Mooney to the New York Knicks. However, the Capitanes finished their shortened season with a 4–8 record, failing to qualify for the Showcase Cup tournament. They would also play a couple of exhibition matches against the NBA G League Ignite, a G League developmental team that joined the G League a season prior with a primary purpose of developing younger prospects to be NBA quality players someday, around the start of 2022.

In their first full, proper season in the NBA G League, the Capitanes would blowout the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 120–84 in their first official G League game played in Mexico's Arena Ciudad de México after playing their entire previous season in the U.S.A. due to the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Capitanes would later end up having the second-best record of the entire South division of the Showcase Cup standings, behind the College Park Skyhawks. Despite that feat, however, they would fail to reach the Showcase Cup tournament due to tiebreaker rules. Furthermore, due to tiebreakers rules, the Capitanes would miss out on reaching the G League playoffs properly for the first time in franchise history due to them losing tiebreaker results to the Santa Cruz Warriors and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

In their third official season in the G League, the Capitanes would select Malique Lewis from Trinidad and Tobago as the #1 pick from the international draft, as well as finish the Showcase Cup Tournament with a worse record than last season by having a 9–7 finish. However, because the Capitanes won more tiebreakers and more teams finished with poorer records by comparison this season, the Capitanes would qualify for the Showcase Cup Tournament properly as the #7 seed. Once there, they would compete against the #2 seed Westchester Knicks, losing to them 114–104, with Westchester eventually being the champions of the Showcase Cup Tournament this season. Once that concluded, the Capitanes would complete the regular season with an improved record from last season by having a 19–15 finish, which would be good enough for an overall 8th-place finish. However, that would not be enough for them to qualify for the playoffs this season once again.

For their fourth official season in the G League, the Capitanes would acquire former NBA G League Ignite player Dink Pate to further help bolster up their roster. Pate is projected to be a first round selection for the 2025 NBA draft and would be the Capitanes' first ever player taken directly from them by the NBA draft if his projections hold firm.

Capitanes is a professional basketball team based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team competes in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) and has established itself as one of the top teams in the league.

Known for their fast-paced and high-energy style of play, Capitanes has a dedicated fan base that fills the arena for every home game. The team's logo features a captain's hat, symbolizing their leadership and determination on the court.

Capitanes has a talented roster of players from Mexico and around the world, who bring a diverse range of skills and experience to the team. With a strong coaching staff and a commitment to excellence, Capitanes continues to be a force to be reckoned with in Mexican basketball.

Off the court, Capitanes is involved in community outreach programs and initiatives to promote the sport of basketball and inspire the next generation of athletes. With a winning tradition and a passion for the game, Capitanes is a team that embodies the spirit of Mexican basketball.