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A 48-game schedule (see daily schedule), including a two-day celebration of basketball and humanity featuring six games in 48 hours at one site in January, highlights the 2004-05 National Basketball Development League schedule announced today by league president Phil Evans.

Another highlight of the schedule is that 60-percent of the games will be played on weekend dates. In addition to the two-games each team will play at the Jan. 16-17 showcase at the Columbus (Ga.) Civic Center, each team will play 23 home games and 23 road dates.

The MLK Jr. Celebration will be highlighted by recitations of "I Have a Dream" by students throughout the Chattahoochee Valley area. Also, basketball enthusiasts (amateurs) will have the opportunity to compete in "one-on-one" competitions, "3-Point Contests", and "Slam Dunk Contests". Other special activities in and around the showcase are being prepared in order to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the global game of basketball.

The 2004-05 season tips off with the Roanoke Dazzle hosting the Fayetteville Patriots at the Roanoke Civic Center on Friday, Nov. 19, 2004. The regular season comes to a close with three games on Saturday, April 9, 2005.

The 2005 NBDL post season will consist of the top four seeds advancing to a single-elimination tournament format after a regular season champion has been crowned. The top seed at the conclusion of the regular season will host the fourth seed, while No. 2 will host No. 3. The winners of those two games will play for the post-season title.

The NBDL, the NBA's minor league, includes the Fayetteville Patriots (N.C.), NBDL Florida, Huntsville Flight (Ala.), Roanoke Dazzle (Va.), Columbus Riverdragons (Ga.), and Asheville Altitude (N.C.).

The league offers players the opportunity to develop their talent in a highly competitive atmosphere under the NBA's umbrella. Twenty-eight NBDL players representing 39 callups, six coaches, six game officials and three athletic trainers have been called up to the NBA since the start of the league's inaugural season in November 2001.

Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the NBDL serves as a source of on-court talent for the NBA's 30 teams and as a diverse human resources pool for the NBA and its teams by training employees in management, operations, public relations, sales and marketing positions.