Rio Grande Valley Vipers release 2021-22 G League schedule

The Vipers could feature 2021 first-round draft picks from the Rockets — such as Josh Christopher and Usman Garuba — early in the season.

For the first time since the NBA’s 2019-20 league year, the G League will play a normal season in the upcoming 2021-22 campaign.

While the G League existed in 2020-21, it was an abbreviated season at a “bubble” complex in Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not all teams participated. But in 2021-22, the full league is back, and teams will play in their normal home arenas and markets, as well.

For the Rockets, this means that their G League affiliate — the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (RGV) in Edinburg, Texas — will have a complete suite of games to showcase potential Houston players. This year also represents RGV’s 15-year anniversary as a part of the G League.

Since the Vipers are owned by the Rockets, the systems are optimized to be as compatible with the parent club’s needs as possible. Early in the 2021-22 season, it appears quite possible that Rio Grande Valley could become the training ground for recently drafted first-round prospects like Josh Christopher and Usman Garuba.

See below for a press release from the Vipers regarding their schedule release, along with a graphic showing the full slate. RGV’s full roster for the upcoming season, which depends in part on roster decisions made by the Rockets after training camp, will be announced at a later date.

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Vipers Announce 2021-22 Season Schedule

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the NBA G League Affiliate of the Houston Rockets, announced today their 2021-22 season schedule. The Vipers will celebrate their 15th year anniversary with an innovative schedule that tips off on Friday, Nov. 5 at Bert Ogden Arena.

After being away for 604 days, the Vipers open the season at home as they host the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s affiliate, at 7:30 p.m. Central. In celebration of returning back home to the RGV, the Vipers will be giving away a special item to fans.

“We are excited and look forward to welcoming the Rio Grande Valley fans back to Bert Ogden Arena in November,” said Rene Borrego, Vipers CEO. “We can’t wait to bring back high-quality entertainment with high-caliber talent for our fans to enjoy.”

On Saturday, Nov. 20 and Monday, Nov. 22, RGV will be hosting the Capitanes de la Ciudad de Mexico in their inaugural season at home. The Vipers will also welcome for the first time the Birmingham Squadron, the NBA Pelicans affiliate, on Black Friday, Nov. 26.

RGV will enter 2022 on a six-game road trip, starting out at Iowa Wolves on New Year’s Day. February will be the longest the team will be on the road with eight games in seven different cities — Salt Lake City, Santa Cruz, Stockton, Austin, Birmingham, Sioux Falls, and Dallas. The Vipers will end their 15th campaign on Saturday, April 2 as they host Agua Caliente Clippers. In addition, RGV will host their annual All-Star game, where elite local high school talent compete in a West versus East match.

This year’s season format is split in two parts. The first set of 12 games and two games from the G League Showcase at the start of season make up the Showcase Cup. The Showcase Cup will feature all 29 teams and NBA G League Ignite that will conclude at the NBA G League Winter Showcase with the Showcase Cup Championship Game.

Teams will be separated into four regional pods, where they will play 12 games against each other in their respective G League markets. The teams with the best win percentage in each regional pod, including the four teams with the next-best percentage across the league, will go on to play for the Showcase Cup in a single-elimination tournament at the NBA G League Winter Showcase between Dec. 19-22. The winners and runners-up will compete for a trophy and a monetary prize pool.

Those teams who don’t qualify to compete for the Showcase Cup Championship will each play an additional two games each at the Winter Showcase outside of the tournament format.

The second half of the G League season begins on Dec. 27 and features a traditional regular-season schedule of 36 games. As part of that, the Vipers will host 18 home games and 18 road games. In all, each team will play a total of 50 games in the 2021-22 season.

The Vipers’ complete 2021-22 schedule consists of four back-to-back home games, including 10 weekday games: one Monday game, one Tuesday, four games on Wednesday, and four on Thursday. The Vipers will host 15 weekend home games, including six Friday games, seven Saturday games, and one Sunday matchup.

By month, six games will be hosted in November, three in December, six games in January, two in February, eight games in March and one lone game to cap off the season in April. All tip-off times are set at 7:30 Central, except the only Sunday game is set at 6 p.m.

The health and safety of fans remains a top priority, and the team pledges to continue working with the NBA and local public health experts on protocols to keep RGV fans, players, and personnel safe and healthy.