Bakersfield Magic

From 2006 to 2016, Bakersfield, California, was home to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League. The team played at Rabobank Arena until 2009 and later at the Jam Events Center. On May 9, 2014, the Jam entered a hybrid affiliation with the Phoenix Suns, giving the Suns exclusive affiliation with the team while allowing the Jam to operate under their own management.[1] On April 12, 2016, the Suns announced that the organization had purchased the Jam and were relocating the franchise to the town of Prescott Valley, Arizona, for the 2016–17 season to become the Northern Arizona Suns.[2] In response, the previous owners of the Jam franchise, Stan Ellis and David Higdon, announced that they had been working with the D-League in securing a new franchise and affiliation before the 2016–17 season, although it did not come to fruition.[3]

In June 2021, it was first reported by KGET-TV that Bakersfield would host the Bakersfield Magic in The Basketball League for the 2022 season.[4] On August 5, 2021, it was announced that Spencer Norman, previously announced as the team market owner for the Fresno Fire,[5] would be the team market owner. Karaya Gage was initially announced as the team's first head coach, making her the first African-American woman to serve as Head Coach of a men's professional basketball team.[6] However, after coaching the team during a pre-season exhibition against members of the Bakersfield Police Department on January 29, 2022,[7] Gage quietly left the organization. The team then announced that Peter Pang would serve as the new Head Coach, becoming the first Chinese-American to coach a professional basketball team in the United States. Lawrence "Doc" Holliday was the team's initial General Manager. However, the team had announced on March 22, 2022 that Holliday had died.

On April 1, 2022, The Bakersfield Magic announced that L. Dee Slade would take over as the new General Manager of the team.

The Magic played their first exhibition game on January 29, 2022 against members of the Bakersfield Police Department. No official score of the game was kept, and the scoreboard itself was reset multiple times. The Magic 'won' the game easily.

Head Coach Karaya Gage left the organization shortly after the 2022 TBL Draft in Indianapolis, Indiana. Peter Pang was eventually named as Gage's replacement going into the team's first regular season.

Their first official TBL game came on March 4, 2022. Initially, they were to play against the Temecula Eagles, however the Eagles dropped out of play and the schedule was changed. Instead, the Magic played back-to-back road games against the SoCal Moguls, dropping both. The Magic made their home debut with a loss to the California Sea-Kings on March 11, 2022, then picked up their first home win the next night against the Vancouver Volcanoes.

After losing on the road to the Salem Capitals, Vancouver Volcanoes and San Diego Sharks, the Magic picked up their first road win against the SoCal Moguls on March 26, 2022.