The basketball team that was almost named the Breakers
In short: When the Los Angeles Lakers first entered the D-League in 2006, they held a public contest to name their new affiliate. The winning name was actually Breakers, but the organization chose the runner-up, D-Fenders, because a local coed dwarf basketball team already used the first choice for their own club.
The winning name from the 2006 'name the team' contest was 'Breakers.' However, the Lakers organization discovered that a local coed dwarf basketball team was already using that name. Consequently, they pivoted to the runner-up choice, 'D-Fenders,' which served as the team's identity for over a decade. The contest featured 64 different candidates. Voting occurred between April and June 5, 2006. The organization unveiled the final logo on July 26, 2006.
The franchise's history is marked by significant branding shifts and relocations. After moving from El Segundo to a practice facility in 2016, they became the South Bay Lakers. Now, following the 2025–26 NBA G League season, the team is relocating to the Coachella Valley and rebranding as the Coachella Valley Lakers, playing their home games at the Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms. The team previously played at the Toyota Sports Center. They also spent time at the Citizens Business Bank Arena. Admission there averaged about 1,500 people per game.
The team has been a laboratory for unique basketball milestones. Jordan Farmar made history on 1 April 2007 by participating in both a D-League and an NBA match within a single day. This feat was later matched by Coby Karl, the son of NBA coach George Karl, who also served as the team's head coach. Stephane Lasme was the first player to receive a call-up from the D-Fenders. He played for the Miami Heat. Jelani McCoy also received a call-up to the Denver Nuggets.
The D-Fenders era saw high-octane scoring and historic records. In 2014, the team set a D-League record with 26 three-pointers in a single game and a franchise record of 155 points. They also achieved a historic 38–12 regular season in 2011–12, which was the best record ever posted in the D-League at that time. The 2011–12 season saw Brandon Costner average 20.3 points per game. Elijah Millsap averaged 19.4 points per game. The team won the Western Conference Title that year.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Coachella Valley Lakers
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