ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., July 9, 2007 – The National Basketball Association kicked off the 2007 NBA Summer League presented by Adidas on Friday, July 6 in Las Vegas and will continue through Sunday, July 15. NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas will be played at the Cox Pavilion and the Thomas & Mack Center on UNLV’s campus. Games will be webcasted live on nba.com.

The Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando, Fla. started today, July 9 and will run through July 13. The Rocky Mountain Revue presented by StoresOnline in Salt Lake City, Utah will run July 13 thru July 20.

“The summer leagues provide a great opportunity for our players to measure themselves against top draft picks and future NBA stars”, said Team President Billy Widner. “Fans can look forward to seeing more Thunderbirds participate throughout the summer and there is a good chance that a few of our guys will be invited to camp in October. Basketball season will be here before you know it!”

Amongst the talent in the NBA Summer Leagues currently are eight former Thunderbirds in Las Vegas, and two in the Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando, Fla. who hope to earn an invitation to a NBA training camp in October. The list also includes Shannon Brown and Dwayne Jones, who were assigned to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, by the Cleveland Cavaliers 2006 – 07 season.

2007 NBA Summer League presented by Adidas in Las Vegas, NV:

Name	Pos.	HT.	WT	College	Played w/ ABQ	NBA Team
Eddy Fobbs	C	6'11"	240	Sam Houston State ’05	2006-07	Detroit Pistons
Andreas Glyniadakis	C	7'1"	280	Greece	2005-06; 2006-07	Boston Celtics
Dijon Thompson	G/F	6’7”	195	UCLA ’04	2006-07	Cleveland Cavaliers
Shannon Brown	G	6’4”	205	Michigan State ’06	2006-07	Cleveland Cavaliers
Dwayne Jones	F/C	6’11”	251	St. Joseph’s ’05	2006-07	Cleveland Cavaliers
Julius Hodge	G	6’7”	210	North Carolina State ’05	2006-07	Seattle SuperSonics
Anthony Coleman	C/F	6’11”	235	Long Beach State ‘05	2005-06	Milwaukee Bucks
Rich Melzer	F	6’8”	225	Wisconsin – River Falls ‘04	2005-06	San Antonio Spurs

2007 Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando, FL:

Name	Pos.	HT.	WT	College	Played w/ ABQ	NBA Team
John Edwards	C	7' 0"	275	Kent State ‘04	2006-07	Miami Heat
Steven Barber	G	5’10”	160	UT - Arlington ‘02	2006-07	Orlando Magic

2007 Rocky Mountain Review presented by StoresOnline.com in Salt Lake City, UT:

Name	Pos.	HT.	WT	College	Played w/ ABQ	NBA Team
Julius Hodge	G	6’7”	210	North Carolina State ’05	2006-07	Seattle SuperSonics
Rich Melzer	F	6’8”	225	Wisconsin – River Falls ‘04	2005-06	San Antonio Spurs

The league’s assignment system will enter its third season in 2007-08. Over the first two seasons, NBA teams have assigned 53 players a total of 77 times, including 30 selections from the 2005 and 2006 NBA Drafts. Last season, a total of 47 former NBA draft picks played in the D-League. Lottery selections such as Portland’s Martell Webster (6th pick overall in 2005), Golden State’s Patrick O’Bryant (9th pick, 2006) and Seattle’s Mouhamed Sene (10th pick, 2006) all were assigned to their respective team’s D-League affiliate.

Entering its seventh season, the NBA Development League – the NBA’s minor league established to develop talent across all disciplines for the NBA – has relocated its headquarters from Greenville, S.C. to New York City to help foster the D-League's continued growth by giving it direct access to the support and resources of the NBA and WNBA. During the 2006-07 season, 19 NBA teams assigned 24 players to D-League rosters, and 14 NBA teams called-up 16 players (‘Gatorade Call-ups’) while 31 D-League alumni participated in the NBA Playoffs. Additionally, every referee hired by the NBA since 2002 has worked in the D-League, while coaches, athletic trainers and front office executives are also being developed. The 2007-08 NBA season will also include the first-ever D-League coach to be promoted to the NBA with Sam Vincent taking over head coaching duties for the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Thunderbirds continually stay focused on the community by participating in community events such as the Read to Achieve Program as well as D Leagues Cares. In the past two seasons the Thunderbirds have worked 2,996.50 hours in the community, staying dedicated to Albuquerque and New Mexico.

Thunderbirds 2007–08 season tickets are already on sale and can be purchased at abqtbirds.com or at Thunderbirds Front Office. For premium or group seating call the Thunderbirds office at (505) 265-DUNK.

The NBA Development League includes the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (N.M.), Anaheim Arsenal (Calif.), Austin Toros (Texas), Bakersfield Jam (Calif.), Colorado 14ers (Broomfield), Dakota Wizards (Bismarck, N.D.), Idaho Stampede (Boise), Los Angeles D-Fenders (Calif.), Sioux Falls Skyforce (S.D.) and Tulsa 66ers (Okla.). Expansion teams for the 2007-08 season have will include the Utah Flash (UT), the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Texas), Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Ind.) and Iowa Energy (IA).

Established to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the D-League also offers fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. For additional information on the NBA Development League, visit D-LEAGUE.com.

For information on premium seating and general information about the Albuquerque Thunderbirds call (505) 265-DUNK or log on to www.abqtbirds.com.