The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are a basketball team in the NBA Development League. They play their home games at the State Farm Arena, in Hidalgo, Texas. With two D-League titles in 2010 and 2013, the Vipers are the most victorious team in the league along with the Asheville Altitude and Santa Cruz Warriors.
The Vipers entered a single-partnership affiliation agreement with the Houston Rockets during the 2009–10 season. Previously, they were also affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 2007–08 and the New Orleans Hornets from 2007–09.
After the finish of the 2006-2007 season, the D-League announced an expansion to Hidalgo, Texas, with the team name "Rio Grande Valley Vipers". In their debut season, 2007-2008, they finished with a 21–29 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs. In 2008–09, they finished with the same record, failing to advance to the playoffs for the second year in a row.
In 2009, the Vipers and the Houston Rockets entered into a single affiliation partnership in which the Rockets controlled the Vipers' basketball operations while the franchise remains under local ownership by Alonzo Cantu. The result paid immediate dividends in the 2009–10 season, as the Vipers enjoyed their most successful season. Led by league MVP Mike Harris, and coach of the year Chris Finch, the Vipers went 34–16, tops in the Western Conference, and earned the franchise's first playoff berth. In the playoffs, the Vipers beat both Reno and Austin in 3 games, and swept Tulsa in the Finals to earn the franchise's first championship.
In 2013, the Vipers won their second title over the Santa Cruz Warriors. Andrew Goudelock won the NBA Development League Most Valuable Player Award and got called up by the Los Angeles Lakers.
In November 2013, the Vipers announced Gianluca Pascucci as the general manager and Nevada Smith as the head coach.
On February 26, 2015, the Vipers broke ground on a new arena in Edinburg, which will be called Bert Ogden Arena, scheduled for completion in October 2016, which would be the Vipers' tenth season. The arena will reportedly house 8,500 seats, along with being a venue used for entertainment. The Vipers will be the main tenant and operator (while the City of Edinburg will own the arena), and there will be a 40 by 20 foot jumbotron, the largest in the league. The arena will be funded by sales taxes and cost an estimated $68 million, with nearly half being funded privately.
On August 18, 2015, the Vipers named Matt Brase their new head coach.
Bob Hoffman (2007–08)Clay Moser (2008–09)Chris Finch (2009–2011)Nick Nurse (2011–2013)Nevada Smith (2013–2015)Matt Brase (2015–)Aaron Brooks, G, 6'0", University of Oregon (2007)Steve Novak, F, 6'10", Marquette University (2007)Jarred Merrill, F, 6'9", Oklahoma Christian University (2007)Gabe Muoneke, F, 6'7", University of Texas at Austin (2007)Kenny Taylor, G, 6'3", University of Texas at Austin (2007–08)C.J. Watson, G, 6'2", University of Tennessee (2007–08)Kevin Bookout, F, 6'8", University of Oklahoma (2007–08)Cedric Simmons, F, 6'9", North Carolina State University (2008)Shannon Brown, G, 6'4", Michigan State University (2008)Chris Taft, F, 6'10", University of Pittsburgh (2008)Luke Anderson, F, 6'6", University of Minnesota (2008)Kyle Davis, F, 6'9", Auburn University (2008)Marcus Morris, F, 6'9", University of Kansas (2012)Glen Rice, Jr., F, 6'6", Georgia Tech (2013)Hassan Whiteside, C, 7'0", Marshall (2013)Dwayne Lathan, G, 6'3", Indiana State (2013–14)Steve Novak – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 11, 2007Aaron Brooks – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 6, 2007Cedric Simmons – assigned by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 2, 2008Shannon Brown – assigned by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 11, 2008Joey Dorsey – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 26, 2008Joey Dorsey – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 13, 2009Jermaine Taylor – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 28, 2010Ishmael Smith – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 17, 2011Marcus Morris – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 2, 2012 & February 3, 2012Patrick Beverley – assigned by the Houston Rockets on January 7, 2013Isaiah Canaan – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 7, 2013Clint Capela – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 10, 2014Nick Johnson – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 18, 2014K. J. McDaniels – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 11, 2015Montrezl Harrell – assigned by the Houston Rockets on December 6, 2015Sam Dekker – assigned by the Houston Rockets on February 19, 2016Chinanu Onuaku – assigned by the Houston Rockets on October 31, 2016Kyle Wiltjer – assigned by the Houston Rockets on November 13, 2016Aaron Brooks – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 14, 2007Steve Novak – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 17, 2007Cedric Simmons – recalled by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 11, 2008Shannon Brown – recalled by the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 17, 2008Marcus Morris - recalled by the Houston Rockets on January 16, 2012 & February 20, 2012Patrick Beverley – recalled by the Houston Rockets on January 15, 2013Isaiah Canaan – recalled by the Houston Rockets on December 21, 2013Nick Johnson – recalled by the Houston Rockets on November 24, 2014Clint Capela – recalled by the Houston Rockets on March 27, 2015Sam Dekker – recalled by the Houston Rockets on March 5, 2016K. J. McDaniels – recalled by the Houston Rockets on March 5, 2016Montrezl Harrell – recalled by the Houston Rockets on April 10, 2016Chinanu Onuaku – recalled by the Houston Rockets on November 21, 2016Kyle Wiltjer – recalled by the Houston Rockets on November 21, 2016C.J. Watson – called up by the Golden State Warriors on January 8, 2008Jawad Williams – called up by the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 9, 2009Mike Harris – called up by the Houston Rockets on December 23, 2009Will Conroy – called up by the Houston Rockets from January 28 to February 8, 2010Garrett Temple – called up by the Houston Rockets on February 8, 2010Mustafa Shakur - called up by the Washington Wizards, 2011Andrew Goudelock - called up by the Los Angeles Lakers, 2013Cleveland Cavaliers (2007–2008)New Orleans Hornets (2007–2009)Houston Rockets (2007–present)
