Albuquerque Thunderbirds
| File:Cleveland Charge logo.svg Logo of the Cleveland Charge | |
| Company type | Professional basketball team |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports |
| Predecessor | Huntsville Flight, Albuquerque Thunderbirds, New Mexico Thunderbirds, Canton Charge |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Mike Gerrity (head coach) |
| Products | Basketball team |
| Owner | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Website | cleveland |
The Cleveland Charge represent a professional basketball franchise competing in the NBA G League, operating out of Cleveland and affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Beginning in 2024, their home contests are held at Public Auditorium in the city's downtown area, although the 2024–25 campaign started at the Rocket Arena, the Cavaliers' own venue, due to ongoing renovations.
Originally established in 2001 as the Huntsville Flight located in Huntsville, Alabama, the team relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2005, adopting the name Albuquerque Thunderbirds until 2010. Following a single season as the New Mexico Thunderbirds based in Rio Rancho, ownership transferred to the Cavaliers who moved the franchise to Canton, Ohio, where it competed as the Canton Charge through the 2020–21 season.
The organization has reached the league finals twice, falling short in 2004 while based in Huntsville and capturing the championship in 2006 as Albuquerque. Since settling in Ohio, they advanced to the semifinals in 2012, 2015, and 2016. Notably, the Charge remain one of three original franchises from the 2001–02 inaugural season still active and are among four teams boasting at least ten playoff appearances throughout league history.
Huntsville
The franchise began its journey in 2001 under the name Huntsville Flight in Huntsville, Alabama, serving as a charter member of the NBA Development League, which functions as the NBA’s official minor league system. Their home venue was the Von Braun Center. After failing to qualify for postseason play during their initial two seasons, they advanced to the NBA D-League Finals in their third year but were defeated by the Asheville Altitude. The Flight concluded their Alabama chapter following the 2004–05 season with a third-place league finish and a playoff berth. During this period, they operated without any direct NBA affiliation.
Albuquerque
In 2005, the franchise shifted to Albuquerque, New Mexico, rebranding as the Albuquerque Thunderbirds and hosting games at Tingley Coliseum. Their debut season in Albuquerque culminated with winning the 2006 NBA D-League Championship, overcoming the Fort Worth Flyers in the final. The subsequent year saw them return to postseason action but fall short against the Colorado 14ers. By 2010, they relocated once more to play at the Santa Ana Star Center located in Rio Rancho’s suburbs and adopted the new identity of New Mexico Thunderbirds. After one season there, finishing ninth overall and missing playoffs for a fourth straight year, they ended their stint. Throughout this era, the Thunderbirds were affiliated with numerous NBA teams including but not limited to: Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, and Utah Jazz.
Canton
On July 7, 2011, ownership changed hands when the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired the Thunderbirds and transferred operations to Canton, Ohio for participation beginning with the 2011–12 season. On October 11 of that year, Alex Jensen was appointed as head coach for their inaugural campaign. Two days afterward, details about their new identity—including team name Canton Charge, logo, color scheme, and court design—were revealed. The first player signings included veterans Keith McLeod and Jamine Peterson. Official uniforms were introduced on October 25. During the 2011 NBA D-League Draft, Canton selected Tyrell Biggs with their first-round pick. Although they dropped their opening game against reigning champions Iowa Energy, they earned their initial victory in game three versus the Texas Legends.
For the 2013–14 season, Steve Hetzel assumed head coaching responsibilities beginning September 11, 2013.
Cleveland
After the conclusion of their decade-long lease at the Canton Memorial Civic Center, which ended following the shortened 2020–21 NBA G League season conducted in Orlando's bubble due to COVID-19 pandemic limitations, the Cavaliers decided against renewing their agreement in Canton. Instead, they transferred the franchise to downtown Cleveland, hosting games at the Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University beginning with the 2021–22 season. On July 26, 2021, the team was renamed the Cleveland Charge, maintaining most design elements but substituting "Canton" for "Cleveland" in the logo. In September 2021, head coach Nate Reinking was elevated to an assistant coaching role with the Cavaliers, while Dan Geriot took over as the Charge's head coach.
In September 2022, Mike Gerrity, serving as a Cavaliers assistant, succeeded Geriot as head coach of the Charge.
On June 4, 2024, the Charge revealed plans to relocate their home games to downtown Cleveland's Public Auditorium, ending their three-season tenure at the Wolstein Center.
Huntsville Flight
The initial logo for Huntsville Flight displayed a yellow basketball encircled by a red fighter aircraft, with "Huntsville" rendered in blue and "Flight" in yellow beneath it. The team's palette consisted of red, yellow, navy blue, and white. Their home jerseys were white featuring red numbers and lettering; away kits inverted this color scheme with red jerseys and yellow numbering.
Albuquerque/New Mexico Thunderbirds
Both the Albuquerque and New Mexico Thunderbirds utilized a logo portraying a black bird's head gripping a basketball. Their color schemes included dark yellow, black, white, and orange; however, New Mexico replaced orange with grey. The home uniforms were white with orange lettering and black highlights; away uniforms presented an orange base with black accents and white lettering displaying either "Albuquerque" or "T-Birds" for New Mexico.
Canton Charge
Under ownership by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Charge adopted a logo featuring a musketeer-style soldier wielding a sword pointed forward, accompanied by "Canton Charge" rendered in gold and white. The official colors are wine, gold, and white. An alternate emblem resembles the Cavaliers' "C Sword Logo," showing a sword crossing through a "C." Initially, their home uniform was gold with wine-colored letters; their away uniform reversed these hues. When Nike became the NBA G League’s official uniform provider in 2017–18, the Charge introduced a white jersey with wine lettering and gold accents while updating their wine-colored uniforms by adding navy numbers alongside gold detailing.
Home arenas
- Von Braun Center (2001–2005)
- Tingley Coliseum (2005–2010)
- Santa Ana Star Center (2010–2011)
- Canton Memorial Civic Center (2011–2020)
- Wolstein Center (2021–2024)
- Public Auditorium (2024–present)
Season-by-season
2017–18 NBA G League season|| Central||4th place||22||28||.440|| 2018–19 NBA G League season|| Central||4th place||22||28||.440|| 2019–20 NBA G League season|| Central||2nd place||29||14||.674||align=left |Season ended early due to COVID-192020–21 NBA G League season||—||14th place||5||10||.333|| colspan=10 align="center" style="Template:NBA color cell;" |Cleveland Charge2021–22 NBA G League season|| Eastern||15th place||6||26||.188|| 2022–23 NBA G League season|| Eastern||5th place||18||14||.563||align=left | Quarterfinals win over (Maine Celtics)113-100Semifinals loss to (Long Island Nets)107-111 2023–24 NBA G League season|| Eastern||11th place||15||19||.441|| 2024–25 NBA G League season|| Eastern||11th place||16||18||.471||
| Season | Division | Regular season | Playoffs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Pct. | |||
| colspan=10 align="center" style=Template:NBA color cell;"|Huntsville Flight | ||||||
| 2001–02 | 5th place | 26 | 30 | .464 | ||
| 2002–03 | 8th place | 22 | 28 | .440 | ||
| 2003–04 | 3rd place | 24 | 22 | .522 | Semifinals victory over (Charleston) 108–100 Finals defeat to (Asheville) 106–108 | |
| 2004–05 | 3rd place | 27 | 21 | .563 | Semifinals loss to (Asheville) 86–90 | |
| colspan=10 align="center" style="Template:NBA color cell;"|Albuquerque Thunderbirds | ||||||
| 2005–06 | 2nd place | 26 | 22 | .542 | Semifinals win versus (Florida) 80–71 Champions of D-League Finals defeating (Fort Worth) 119–108 | |
| 2006–07 | Western | 3rd place | 24 | 26 | .480 | Semifinals eliminated by (Colorado) 100–130 |
| 2007–08 | Southwestern | 4th place | 22 | 28 | .440 | |
| 2008–09 | Southwestern | 3rd place | 24 | 26 | .480 | |
| 2009–10 | Western | 7th place | 18 | 32 | .360 | |
| colspan=10 align="center" style="Template:NBA color cell;"|New Mexico Thunderbirds | ||||||
| 2010–11 | Western | 9th place | 20 | 30 | .400 | |
| colspan=10 align="center" style="Template:NBA color cell;"|Canton Charge | ||||||
| 2011–12 | Eastern | 4th place | 27 | 23 | .540 | First Round victory over (Springfield) 2–1 Semifinals defeat by (Austin) 1–2 |
| 2012–13 | Eastern | 1st place | 30 | 20 | .600 | First Round loss to (Tulsa)1–2 |
| 2013–14 | Eastern | 2nd place | 28 | 22 | .560 | First Round elimination by (Sioux Falls)1–2 |
| 2014–15 | Atlantic | 2nd place | 31 | 19 | .620 | First Round win against (Sioux Falls Skyforce)2–1 Semifinals loss to (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)0–2 |
| 2015–16 | Central | 2nd place | 31 | 19 | .620 | First Round victory over (Maine Red Claws)2–0 Semifinals defeat by (Sioux Falls Skyforce)0–2 |
| 2016–17 | Central | 3rd place | 29 | 21 | .580 | First Round loss to (Raptors 905)0–2 |
| Regular season totals | 542 | 556 | .494 | 2001-present | ||
| Playoff record | 13 | 18 | .419 | 2001-present | ||
Head coaches
NBA affiliations
The franchise operated without an official NBA partnership during its initial years in Huntsville (2001–2005). Starting in 2005, it established relationships with eleven NBA organizations, frequently aligning with multiple teams within a single season. Prior to the Cleveland Cavaliers' purchase in 2011, the team typically maintained affiliations with two to four NBA franchises simultaneously.
- Sacramento Kings (2005–2006)
- Seattle SuperSonics (2005–2006)
- Utah Jazz (2005–2006)
- Phoenix Suns (2005–2008)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (2006–2007)
- Indiana Pacers (2006–2007)
- Philadelphia 76ers (2007–2008)
- Miami Heat (2008–2009)
- Dallas Mavericks (2008–2010)
- New Orleans Hornets (2009–2011)
- Orlando Magic (2010–2011)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (2011–present)
Media coverage
Charge contests are streamed online through iHeart's NEO Sports Radio platform.