Westchester Knicks (NBA G League) @ Westchester County Center (White Plains, NY)

26 IN 26 STOP 3

*This trip occurred on January 24, 2026.

The NBA G League: where NBA dreams go to...I’m honestly not sure how to finish this.

Unlike baseball and hockey, the NBA has only one “official” minor league: the G League. It's a rather "recent" development for the NBA: founded in 2001 as the National Basketball Developmental League (NBDL), it was renamed to the NBA Development League (or D-League) in 2005, then became the G League after a sponsorship deal with Gatorade, making it the first league in the United States to bear the name of a sponsor (and one of very few leagues in the United States to be named after a sponsor¹). Similar to the AHL, it is RARE for guys to end up becoming NBA mainstays from the G League; in fact, at least two infamous draft busts have ended up in the league - a move that all but killed their NBA careers.

Originally, teams in the league were independently owned and “affiliated” with NBA teams similar to how MLB/NHL teams are affiliated with minor league teams. However, as part of an initiative by the NBA to make the league more akin to other sports, NBA teams started setting up their own operations in the D-League, with many teams outright buying their affiliates (and in many cases moving them). Now, all but two NBA teams (the Nuggets and Rockets) own their G League affiliate (many of whom are either named after the parent team or in the same city), and there's also an "extra team" in Mexico City which lacks any NBA affiliation (meaning that the G League has 31 teams versus the NBA's 30)². With that in mind, let’s focus on the team at hand: the Westchester Knicks.

Established in 2014 when the New York Knicks entered the G League via expansion (i.e. not a relocation of another team), the Westchester Knicks have some kinda random titles that I don’t fully understand because for some reason, the G League has a bunch of tournaments besides the main championship series (though something to keep in mind with “minor league” teams: championships aren’t exactly a “goal to be strived for”). What is easier for me to discuss, however, is their home: the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY.

The third oldest arena in the G League, the Westchester County Center was opened in 1930 - sixteen years before the NBA was founded. It’s hosted a LOT of things in the almost 100 years since it opened - I won’t get into all of them, but one that is relevant to the Knicks is that the New York Liberty played their final year as the Knicks’ WNBA sister team here before being sold to Nets ownership (and then played a second year in Westchester before moving to Brooklyn). There are at least eight "meeting rooms" and a smaller theater area within the building, but I didn't even bother trying to access any of them during the game (I think they were used for "behind the scenes things"), so I'll focus purely on the main event space.

The layout here is, to be fully honest, actually kinda interesting: there isn't exactly a "seating bowl" here as the venue is basically an auditorium which is converted for basketball use, and there are VERY FEW lower level seats; only one side of the court has more than one row of seats, and the rest seems to be premium seating - including the stage. Most of the "standard" seats, then, are in the balcony, and as a theater, they're a bit more "luxurious" that what you'd expect from upper deck seating (being quite padded). One MAJOR drawback of sitting up here, however: you don't get to see the full court from pretty much anywhere, but it's more pronounced if you're sitting at the end (which is probably why those are the least expensive tickets).

Thanks to the building's many uses, there's no center hung board here. Instead, there are three massive screens here; two on the stage end show the action/replays, while one above the entrance acts as the main scoreboard. There was also a television in the lobby showing the game, but the feed was INCREDIBLY choppy. Both floor level and balcony level have their own concession stands (pretty much in the same spot), and similar to Maimonides Park, it's "branded" as Nathan's Famous. I ended up getting things from both stands at various points during the game, and the line for the upper stand was notably longer than the lower stand (and from what I heard, it seems like this was the case throughout the night).

One thing to think about if you want to come here: there’s parking lots for the building as it's operated by Westchester County's parks department (and is right next to the Bronx River Parkway), but it costs $15 to park in them for games (which is almost the same as the ticket prices)³. There is street parking available nearby, but I've heard not-so-great things about White Plains, so I wasn't sure about that (plus it's a total crapshoot if you actually manage to get a spot, and you have to cross a busy street to get to the arena).

This trip has been "yanked around" my calendar quite a bit. For starters, it was always more likely that I'd come here rather than trying to get into a New York Knicks game thanks to the NBA Knicks being one of the better teams in the league (plus Madison Square Garden being, well, Madison Square Garden)*. When I first looked at the Westchester Knicks' schedule near the end of 2025 (i.e. when I first thought about coming here), I saw a game on New Years Day - one I almost went to until ultimately deciding against it (partially due to plans I had the next day plus the fact that I had been somewhere a few days prior). I then thought about going on January 9 due to a potential conflict with the Bridgeport Islanders game I had planned to go to that weekend, but then that got resolved and I was able to go to the Islanders game⁴, so I decided not to go then. I did look at other dates, but ultimately ended up landing on this one - partially as my intended game for today got cancelled (in fact, I ended up getting a ticket at the door which saved me a bit of money because Ticketmaster).

To be honest, I realized something: I don't know how I feel about the NBA/the live basketball experience. I realize that might be a bit controversial, but like I said the first time basketball was on this blog, it's a little hard to get excited about individual baskets when SO MANY of them happen during a game (unlike other sports). This game...did not do much to help move the needle: I kinda liked the "vibes" of the arena (minus the obstructed views from the balcony), but the Knicks got blown out by their opponents thanks to a combination of the opponent hitting over 50% of their shots plus the Knicks not being able to handle the ball very well (though that may just be a G League thing...); also, both teams got to 100 points because OF COURSE.

One last thing I want to mention: the G League is also where the NBA tests out potential rule changes (Minor League Baseball does this too for baseball, but i'm not sure if the AHL and ECHL do this for hockey). The most notable one (at least in the context of this game) is the "one free throw" rule: in instances where a player would shoot multiple free throws (i.e. getting fouled while shooting), the player instead shoots one free throw that, if made, scores however many points the shot would have made (for example, if someone was fouled while shooting a three, the one free throw they take would count for THREE points). There's a bit more to this rule that's kinda hard to explain, but in short: free throws after made baskets (aka "and ones") are still one point, I'm not sure how this would work for technical fouls as one WAS called during the game but the free throw was missed, and this rule does not apply in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime (which has its own unique rules in the G League, though that didn't come up because 21-point margin)⁵. I think this helped shorten the game a bit, as it ended sometime around 9:15 PM (I was expecting to be out MUCH later than I was, which helps because we're getting buried in snow right now).

(And if you’re wondering about the Nets’ G League team, they’re at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. That’s a bit too far for me I think...)

MERCH

I’m not sure if it’s surprising or not that G League teams sell merchandise - after all, it is a way to connect fans to the team (and also something they can get signed after games).

What isn’t super surprising, however, is the fact that said merchandise...is okay at best. At the game, it's sold at a table near the entrance of the auditorium (i.e. NOT in the lobby), and it's mainly a fairly limited selection of hats, shirts, and a few novelties (by which I mean only three: a mini basketball, a teddy bear, and a rally towel). I did see a photo somewhere online of the merch table having jerseys, but none were available at the game I went to.

I personally found that a number of the items felt like they were overpriced, but one thing to note: it seems that unlike other fan amenities here, the merch table is controlled by Madison Square Garden Sports (AKA the controlling company that owns the Knicks). They use MSG bags if you choose to get one (I didn't), and thanks to the company's relationship with Chase Bank, you can get a small discount if you use a Chase debit or credit card when you buy things.

*As a small side note, St. John's men's basketball also plays at MSG (plus one specific women's game); there's a game in a few weeks that I am thinking about going to (either that or the women's game), but tickets are surprisingly pricey because MSG (and also probably Rick Pitino⁶).