Sioux Falls Skyforce Set NBA D-League Record with 39th Win

The Sioux Falls Skyforce handled the Iowa Energy in Tuesday’s NBA Development League action, 125-107, and set a record in the process.

According to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, the Skyforce set a D-League record with their 39th win of the season.

Per the official box score, Sioux Falls had three different players score more than 20 points during Tuesday’s game. Jarnell Stokes finished with 23 points and seven boards, DeAndre Liggins posted a double-double with 23 points and 10 assists, and Rodney McGruder tallied 21 points and six rebounds. 

The Skyforce broke the Los Angeles D-Fenders’ record of 38 wins in a single season. Daniel Ferrara of the D-League’s official website shared a look at the best records in D-League history:

Season	Team	Record	Win Percentage
2015-16	Sioux Falls Skyforce	39-9	.813
2011-12	Los Angeles D-Fenders	38-12	.760
2009-10	Iowa Energy	37-13	.740
2010-11	Iowa Energy	37-13	.740
2012-13	Bakersfield Jam	36-14	.720
2008-09	Colorado 14ers	36-14	.720

Basketball fans may recognize Stokes’ name from the box score. He has appeared in 26 games for the Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat throughout his NBA career and averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 boards a night in 2013-14 as a Tennessee Volunteer. The Utah Jazz picked him in the second round in 2014, and impressive showings in the D-League will likely land him on NBA teams’ radars in the near future.

Ferrara noted Stokes leads the Skyforce in scoring with 20.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per night as a strong offensive playmaker in the paint.

While Stokes has carried much of the offensive load, the Skyforce set the record largely because of their strong team defense. According to the D-League’s official site, they are first in the league in opposing points per game. What’s more, Ferrara said they are first in steals (9.7 per game) and defensive rating (97.8).

It’s not just the defense, though, as Ferrara pointed out the Skyforce are first in the league in field-goal percentage (49 percent).

Sioux Falls is the D-League affiliate of the Miami Heat, and at least one notable person with the NBA team has noticed the record-setters. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said of the Skyforce, per Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, “What we've set up now in Sioux Falls, and it's been three years in the making, but now it is an absolute mirror of what we're trying to do. And it's gotten a little better, as we've gotten to know, each year.”

Spoelstra has climbed the professional mountaintop and won the Larry O’Brien Trophy with the Heat. The fact he is looking to mirror what Sioux Falls is doing in the D-League is a testament to Stokes and his teammates.