Team changes

• On May 1, 2011, the Springfield Armor began a single-affiliation partnership with the New Jersey Nets. The Armor's basketball operation will be controlled by the Nets, who also became their sole NBA affiliate.^[3]
• On June 8, 2011, the Erie BayHawks began a single-affiliation partnership with the New York Knicks. The BayHawks' basketball operation will be controlled by the Knicks, who also became their sole NBA affiliate.^[4]
• On June 9, 2011, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, who suspended operation during the 2010–11 season, announced that they will return to play in the 2011–12 season. The franchise, which is owned and operated by the Los Angeles Lakers, relocated to El Segundo, California and resumed their single-affiliation partnership with the Lakers.^[5]
• On June 18, 2011, the Utah Flash announced that they would not play in the 2011–12 season as the team is up for sale.^[6]
• On June 28, 2011, the Dakota Wizards was purchased by the Golden State Warriors. The Wizards also began a single-affiliation partnership with the Warriors.^[7]
• On July 7, 2011, the New Mexico Thunderbirds was purchased by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The franchise relocated to Canton, Ohio and were later renamed as the Canton Charge. The Charge also began a single-affiliation partnership with the Cavaliers.^[8][9]

Coaching changes

Draft

The eleventh annual NBA Development League Draft was held on November 3, 2011. In this draft, all 16 teams took turns selecting eligible players for their roster. Former NBA first-round draft pick and eight-year NBA veteran Jamaal Tinsley was selected first by the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Another former NBA first-round pick Alando Tucker was selected second by the Texas Legends. Former NBA second-round pick Gabe Pruitt was also selected in the first-round. Other notable picks in the later rounds are former NBA players Cedric Bozeman and Chris Taft who were selected in the second and fourth round respectively. 18 players selected in the draft were participants of the NBA D-League National Tryouts that were held in June. A total of 127 players were selected in the eight-round draft.^[27]

Assignments

Each NBA team can assign players with two years or less of experience to its affiliated NBA Development League team. Players with more than two years of experience may be assigned to the D-League with the players' consent.^[28]

Call-ups

A call-up occurs when a player is signed by an NBA team. An NBA team is allowed to sign any D-League player as long as they are eligible to play in the NBA under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). However, an NBA team could not call-up a player whose draft rights are still held by other NBA teams. A D-League player is usually signed to a 10-day contracts, a short term contract which lasted ten days and are available to be used starting February 6. A player can only sign two 10-day contracts with the same team in one season. If the team want to retain the player after the second 10-day contract expired, the team has to sign the player for the remainder of the season.^[29]

Due to the 2011 NBA lockout, the D-League season started earlier than the NBA season. Therefore, the NBA training camps, which are usually attended by a number of D-League players to compete for a spot on NBA roster, started on December 9, three weeks after the D-League season started. A total of 62 D-League players left their teams to attend NBA training camps.^[30] Eleven of them made the NBA opening day roster on December 25 and therefore they are considered as NBA call-ups.^[31]

As of April 6, 2012, there has been 49 call-ups, involving 33 different players. 22 of them are still on the NBA roster, although 6 of them are currently on 10-day contracts. The Los Angeles D-Fenders and the Austin Toros have the most players called up with five players, while the Erie BayHawks each has four players called up. Mike James received the most call-ups with four, all of them to the Chicago Bulls. Two players, Mickell Gladness and Donald Sloan, has been called up three times. Gladness was called up by the Miami Heat (twice) and the Golden State Warriors, while Sloan was called up to three different NBA teams, the Atlanta Hawks, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New Orleans Hornets.

Note

• Number in parentheses indicates the number of call-ups a player has received during the season.
• Asterisk (*) indicates team affiliation

Showcase

The eighth annual NBA D-League Showcase was held at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada from January 9 until January 12, 2012. The event featured every D-League team who played two games each over a four-day schedule. The games were attended by the professional scouts from all NBA teams. The event was designed to allow the NBA teams to evaluate the D-League's prospects for future call-ups.^[89]

Standings

Notes

• x indicates teams that have qualified for the playoff

Statistics leaders

As of April 29, 2012

All-Star Game

The sixth annual NBA D-League All-Star Game was held during the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend in Orlando, Florida. The game was played in the Orange County Convention Center on February 25. The Western Conference All-Stars defeated the Eastern Conference All-Stars 135–126, led by forward Gerald Green of the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Green scored a game-high 28 points and was named as the MVP of the game.^[91]

Dream Factory Friday Night

The fifth annual NBA D-League Dream Factory Friday Night was held on February 25 during the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend. The events included a slam dunk contest, a three-point shooting contest and a shooting stars competition, all of which are also annual competitions in the NBA All-Star Saturday Night. In the Slam Dunk Contest, reigning champion L.D. Williams of the Springfield Armor retained the title after defeating Texas Legends center Chris Douglas-Roberts in the final round with a score of 93–90. Another player who won again was Legends guard Booker Woodfox in the Three-Point Contest. The Shooting Stars Competition was won by the team of Marqus Blakely (Sioux Falls), Jery Smith (Springfield) and Cameron Jones (Fort Wayne).^[92]