Rio Grande Valley Vipers

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team based in Edinburg, Texas. The Vipers compete in the NBA G League, and play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won three league titles in 2010, 2013, and 2019, most for any club in league history.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers
League	NBA G League
Founded	2007
History	Rio Grande Valley Vipers 2007–present
Arena	Bert Ogden Arena
Location	Edinburg, Texas
Team colors	Red, gray, black, white[1][2]
General manager	Travis Stockbridge
Head coach	Mahmoud Abdelfattah
Ownership	Alonzo Cantu
Affiliation(s)	Houston Rockets
Championships	3 (2010, 2013, 2019)
Conference titles	5 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019)
Division titles	3 (2010, 2013, 2019)
Website	riograndevalley.gleague.nba.com

The Vipers entered a single-partnership affiliation agreement with the Houston Rockets during the 2009–10 season. Previously, they were also affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 2007–08 and the New Orleans Hornets from 2007 to 2009.

History

After the finish of the 2006–07 season, the D-League announced an expansion to Hidalgo, Texas, with the team name "Rio Grande Valley Vipers". In their debut season, 2007–08, they finished with a 21–29 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs. In 2008–09, they finished with the same record, failing to advance to the playoffs for the second year in a row.

In 2009, the Vipers and the Houston Rockets entered into a single affiliation partnership in which the Rockets controlled the Vipers' basketball operations while the franchise remains under local ownership by Alonzo Cantu.[3] The result paid immediate dividends in the 2009–10 season, as the Vipers enjoyed their most successful season. Led by league MVP Mike Harris, and coach of the year Chris Finch, the Vipers went 34–16, tops in the Western Conference, and earned the franchise's first playoff berth. In the playoffs, the Vipers beat both Reno and Austin in 3 games, and swept Tulsa in the Finals to earn the franchise's first championship.[4]

In 2013, the Vipers won their second title over the Santa Cruz Warriors. Andrew Goudelock won the NBA Development League Most Valuable Player Award and got called up by the Los Angeles Lakers.

In November 2013, the Vipers announced Gianluca Pascucci as the general manager and Nevada Smith as the head coach.[5][6]

On February 26, 2015, the Vipers broke ground on a new arena in Edinburg called Bert Ogden Arena and was originally scheduled for completion in October 2016. The arena was reportedly initially designed to house 8,500 seats, along with being a venue used for entertainment. The Vipers are the main tenant and operator (while the City of Edinburg will own the arena), and there will be a 40-by-20 foot jumbotron, the largest in the league. The arena was funded by sales taxes and cost an estimated $68 million, with nearly half being funded privately.[7] After a few delays, the new arena was announced to have a grand opening in June 2018, with the Vipers beginning play in the arena for the 2018–19 season, and an estimated end cost of $88 million.[8]

On August 18, 2015, the Vipers named Matt Brase their new head coach.[9]

On April 12, 2019, the Vipers won their third championship in a 129–112 game three win against the Long Island Nets.[10]

Season-by-season

Season	Division	Regular season				Playoffs
		Finish	Wins	Losses	Pct.
Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2007–08	Southwestern	5th	21	29	.420
2008–09	Southwestern	4th	21	29	.420
2009–10	Western	1st	34	16	.680	Won First Round (Reno) 2–1 Won Semifinals (Austin) 2–1 Won D-League Finals (Tulsa) 2–0
2010–11	Western	2nd	33	17	.660	Won First Round (Bakersfield) 2–1 Won Semifinals (Reno) 2–0 Lost D-League Finals (Iowa) 1–2
2011–12	Western	5th	24	26	.480
2012–13	Central	1st	35	15	.700	Won First Round (Maine) 2–0 Won Semifinals (Tulsa) 2–0 Won D-League Finals (Santa Cruz) 2–0
2013–14	Central	3rd	30	20	.600	Won First Round (Iowa) 2–1 Lost Semifinals (Santa Cruz) 1–2
2014–15	Southwest	3rd	27	23	.540
2015–16	Southwest	2nd	29	21	.580	Lost First Round (Austin) 1–2
2016–17	Southwest	2nd	32	18	.640	Won First Round (Los Angeles) 2–1 Won Conf. Finals (Oklahoma City) 2–1 Lost Finals (Raptors 905) 1–2
2017–18	Southwest	2nd	29	21	.580	Won First Round (Texas) 107–100 Lost Conf. Semifinal (Austin) 91–117
2018–19	Southwest	1st	34	16	.680	Won Conf. Semifinal (Memphis) 135–118 Won Conf. Final (Santa Cruz) 144–125 Won League Finals (Long Island) 2–1
2019–20	Southwest	4th	15	27	.357
Regular season			332	260	.561
Playoffs			31	16	.660

Current roster

Roster listing

Rio Grande Valley Vipers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From F 1 Brown, Jabari 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 1992–12–18 Missouri G 21 Frazier, Michael (TW) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1994–03–08 Florida F/C 8 Maker, Matur 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1998–01–01 Australia F 10 Martin, Jarell 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 239 lb (108 kg) 1994–05–24 LSU G 5 McDowell-White, William 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998–04–13 Australia G 11 Occeus, Shawn 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1997–12–15 Northeastern G 12 Roach, Kerwin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996–10–24 Texas G 44 Sampson, Brandon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1997–05–01 LSU G 24 Taylor, Isaiah 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1994–07–11 Texas G 4 Thornwell, Sindarius 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1994–11–15 South Carolina	Head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah Assistant coach(es) Devan Blair Sam Daghlas Antoine Broxsie (player development) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (NBA) On assignment from NBA affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player (I) Inactive Injured Roster Last transaction: 2019–12–27

Head coaches

#	Head coach	Term	Regular season				Playoffs				Achievements
			G	W	L	Win%	G	W	L	Win%
1	Bob Hoffman	2007–2008	50	21	29	.420	—	—	—	—
2	Clay Moser	2008–2009	50	21	29	.420	—	—	—	—
3	Chris Finch	2009–2011	100	67	33	.670	16	11	5	.688	2010 D-League Championship
4	Nick Nurse	2011–2013	100	59	41	.590	6	6	0	1.000	2013 D-League Championship
5	Nevada Smith	2013–2015	100	57	43	.570	6	3	3	.500
6	Matt Brase	2015–2018	150	90	60	.600	14	7	7	.500	2017 D-League Western Conference Champions
7	Joseph Blair	2018–2019	50	34	16	.680	5	4	1	.800	2019 G League Championship
8	Mahmoud Abdelfattah	2019–present	42	15	27	.357	—	—	—	—

Past players

• See Category:Rio Grande Valley Vipers players for all players who are notable enough to have articles and have played for the team.

Players assigned from NBA teams

• Steve Novak – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 11, 2007
• Aaron Brooks – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 6, 2007
• Cedric Simmons – assigned by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 2, 2008
• Shannon Brown – assigned by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 11, 2008
• Joey Dorsey – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 26, 2008
• Joey Dorsey – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 13, 2009
• Jermaine Taylor – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 28, 2010
• Ishmael Smith – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 17, 2011
• Marcus Morris – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 2, 2012 & February 3, 2012
• Patrick Beverley – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 7, 2013
• Isaiah Canaan – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 7, 2013
• Clint Capela – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 10, 2014
• Nick Johnson – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 18, 2014
• K. J. McDaniels – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 11, 2015
• Montrezl Harrell – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 6, 2015
• Sam Dekker – assigned by the Houston Rockets on February 19, 2016
• Chinanu Onuaku – assigned by the Houston Rockets on October 31, 2016
• Kyle Wiltjer – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 13, 2016
• Troy Williams – assigned by the Houston Rockets on March 10, 2017

Players recalled to the NBA

• Aaron Brooks – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 14, 2007
• Steve Novak – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 17, 2007
• Cedric Simmons – recalled by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 11, 2008
• Shannon Brown – recalled by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 17, 2008
• Marcus Morris - recalled by the Houston Rockets on January 16, 2012 & February 20, 2012
• Patrick Beverley – recalled by the Houston Rockets on January 15, 2013
• Isaiah Canaan – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 21, 2013
• Nick Johnson – recalled by the Houston Rockets on November 24, 2014
• Clint Capela – recalled by the Houston Rockets on March 27, 2015
• Sam Dekker – recalled by the Houston Rockets on March 5, 2016
• K. J. McDaniels – recalled by the Houston Rockets on March 5, 2016
• Montrezl Harrell – recalled by the Houston Rockets on April 10, 2016
• Chinanu Onuaku – recalled by the Houston Rockets on November 21, 2016
• Kyle Wiltjer – recalled by the Houston Rockets on November 21, 2016

Players called up to the NBA

• C.J. Watson – called up by the Golden State Warriors on January 8, 2008
• Jawad Williams – called up by the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 9, 2009
• Mike Harris – called up by the Houston Rockets on December 23, 2009
• Will Conroy – called up by the Houston Rockets from January 28 to February 8, 2010
• Garrett Temple – called up by the Houston Rockets on February 8, 2010
• Mustafa Shakur – called up by the Washington Wizards, 2011
• Drew Goudelock – called up by the Los Angeles Lakers, 2013
• Jordan Hamilton – called up by the New Orleans Pelicans on March 25, 2016
• Isaiah Taylor – called up by the Houston Rockets on February 27, 2017
• Gary Payton II – called up by the Milwaukee Bucks on April 2, 2017
• Monté Morris – called up by the Denver Nuggets on December 12, 2017

NBA affiliates

• Houston Rockets (2007–present)
• Cleveland Cavaliers (2007–2008)
• New Orleans Hornets (2007–2009)

References

1. "RGV Vipers 2015-16 Quick Facts" (PDF). 2015–16 RGV Vipers Media Guide. NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
2. "Rio Grande Valley Vipers Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
3. "Rockets taking over Vipers". ESPN. June 29, 2009.
4. May, Peter (2008-02-03). "A Maine focus in D-League". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
5. "Gianluca Pascucci Named GM of the Vipers".
6. "RGV VIPERS AND HOUSTON ROCKETS ANNOUNCE NEVADA SMITH AS HEAD COACH".
7. "RGV VIPERS BREAK GROUND ON NEW ARENA". Rio Grande Valley Vipers. February 26, 2015.
8. "Tour offers glimpse of Bert Ogden Arena amenities". Brownsville Herald. April 18, 2018.
9. "Rio Grande Valley Hires Matt Brase As Head Coach". NBA Development League. August 18, 2015.
10. "Rio Grande Valley vs. Long Island - Game Summary - April 12, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-04-13.

External links

• Official website