Life in the G

Welcome to the G League, the official minor league of the National Basketball Association. Life in the G is about the arduous quest to achieve an improbable goal: making it to the NBA. Zeroing in on the Birmingham Squadron and four of its players-Jared Harper, Joe Young, Zylan Cheatham, and Malcolm Hill-Alex Squadron details the pursuit of a dream in what turned out to be the most remarkable season in the history of minor league sports. Life in the G League is far from glamorous. Players make enormous sacrifices in the hope that someone in the NBA will give them a chance. To this day, very few fans-even the most passionate followers of the NBA-know much about the G League. Beginning in the fall of 2021, the Birmingham Squadron granted author Alex Squadron complete access to the team to capture the experience of playing in the league. That season, with hundreds of NBA players sidelined by the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19, the G League saw a record number of call-ups. Sports Illustrated labeled it “the year of the NBA replacement player.” Many of those players stayed in the NBA, earning life-changing contracts and taking on significant roles for their new teams. In addition to recounting the organization’s inaugural season, Squadron’s access to the Birmingham Squadron enabled him to document the incredible journeys of G League players and to tell the larger story of life in the G.  

Alex Squadron is a sports journalist who has worked as an associate editor for SLAM, producing cover stories on NBA stars and reporting on marquee events such as the NBA Finals, NBA All-Star Weekend, and FIBA World Cup in China. Andre Ingram is a professional basketball player who has spent fourteen years in the G League. He also serves as president of the G League’s union.