In my quest to review every NBA G League team (https://www.yelp.com/collection/C6OsTLwO5aqzZJ_Ija5pKQ), the Rio Grande Valley Vipers is the first Yelp listing I've come across to already exist (I didn't have to create it) *and* be claimed, yet it had zero reviews and pictures. Let me be the first to give a well-deserved five stars to the Vipers because they have won the most G League championships (3) and have the most Finals appearances (5) of any team in the G League to date. Originally based in Hidalgo and now in Edinburg, the Vipers are the Houston Rockets' G League affiliate. Unlike a lot of NBA teams' G League affiliates, the Vipers are located relatively far from the Rockets. The Vipers' Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg is about 340 miles (5 hours 15 minutes driving) from the Rockets' Toyota Center in Houston. That's like driving from Atlanta, Georgia to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. The Vipers used to play in Dodge Arena/State Farm Arena (now known as Payne Arena) in Hidalgo, near the US-Mexico border. Coincidentally, the Atlanta Hawks now play in State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The "State Farm Arena" name switched from Hidalgo to Atlanta in 2018, the same year Bert Ogden Arena opened in Edinburg. Bert Ogden Arena was built primarily for the Vipers. It has a seating capacity of about 7,700 for Vipers games. It's one of the G League's newest arenas and features a 6mm LED video board that is 44 feet by 19 feet. The Vipers' video board was the largest in the league at the time of its unveiling. It may still be the largest in 2021. The Vipers are a perennial playoff team with titles won in 2010, 2013, and 2019. Each title was won by a different head coach: Chris Finch in 2010, Nick Nurse in 2013, and Joseph Blair in 2019. Chris Finch is now head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joseph Blair is an assistant on Finch's staff. Nick Nurse is now the head coach of the Toronto Raptors. He led the Raptors to the NBA title in 2019. Notable former Vipers players include Patrick Beverley, Clint Capela, Montrezl Harrell, Danuel House, and Hassan Whiteside. As a Georgia Tech and Wake Forest fan, multiple players from both of those ACC schools have suited up for Rio Grande Valley. For the Yellow Jackets, they include Mouhammad Faye and Glen Rice Jr. For the Demon Deacons, they include James Johnson, Ish Smith, and Trent Strickland. Johnson and Smith have gone on to have long NBA careers. read more

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