It’s getting close to that time of the year again and luckily, we can finally move past the NBA off-season. NBA training camps have started to open up across the country, which means we can finally hear from players and coaches after a very exciting and interesting Summer.
The pursuit of another NBA title starts soon, but first we have to get through Media Day, Training Camp and the Pre-Season. Media Day is first and this is the first time we will see all of the players in their new Nike uniform together. The media will also get to ask all the questions about all the off-season storylines and the upcoming 2017-18 season.
Training camp will officially begin on Saturday, September 23rd and the Warriors have some new players to compete with the established stars. The Warriors signed three guards and a forward to join the rest of the players at the Rakuten Performance Center in Oakland, which has been renamed this season.
Antonius Cleveland, Michael Gbinije, Alex Hamilton and Georges Niang are the new players who will be fighting for a roster spot. This Warriors team is absolutely stacked, so it will be a long shot for them to make the team, but crazier things have happened .
For more information, here’s the full press release from the Warriors:
OAKLAND, Calif. – The NBA Champion Golden State Warriors will hold their 2017 Training Camp, fueled by Gatorade, at the Rakuten Performance Center—the team’s newly named Practice Facility in Downtown Oakland—beginning Saturday, September 23, it was announced today.
The team also announced the signing of free agent guards Antonius Cleveland, Michael Gbinije (ben-ih-jhay) and Alex Hamilton and free agent forward Georges Niang (George KNEE-yang).
Cleveland, 22, went undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft after a four-year career at Southeast Missouri State, where he averaged 12.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.31 steals and 28.8 minutes in 121 career games. As a senior in 2016-17, he averaged a career-high 16.6 points while hitting career bests of 54.3 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from three-point range.
Gbinije, 25, appeared in nine games with the Detroit Pistons last season, scoring four points in 32 minutes. Originally selected by the Pistons with the 49th overall pick in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft, Gbinije averaged 12.0 points, and 4.3 rebounds in 35.0 minutes over 16 games with the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA G League. Gbinije, who spent his freshman season at Duke before playing three seasons at Syracuse University, helped the Orange to a Final Four appearance as a senior in 2015-16 after averaging career marks of 17.5 points and 4.3 assists in 37.9 minutes over 37 games.
Hamilton, 23, spent the 2016-17 season with Golden State’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, where he averaged 11.4 points, 4.5 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 23.4 minutes over 43 games. Prior to joining Santa Cruz, Hamilton played collegiately for four seasons at Louisiana Tech, where he averaged 19.9 points, 6.2 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.97 steals in 33 games as a senior in 2015-16, earning Conference USA Player of the Year honors.
Niang, 24, appeared in 23 games for the Indiana Pacers in 2016-17, totaling 21 points and 17 rebounds in 93 minutes of action. Originally selected by the Pacers with the 50th overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, Niang averaged 19.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 33.0 minutes over six games with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the NBA G League last season. Niang played collegiately for four seasons at Iowa State University, where he earned the 2016 Karl Malone Award, given to the nation’s best power forward, after averaging 20.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a senior in 2015-16.
Following seven days of practice, the Warriors will open their preseason schedule at Oracle Arena on Saturday, September 30, against the Denver Nuggets before traveling to China for a pair of preseason games against the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of the NBA Global Games.
Below is information on Warriors 2017 Training Camp, fueled by Gatorade, including the current roster, training camp practice schedule and tentative media availability times: