The Golden State Warriors, the NBA Development League and the city of Santa Cruz, Calif. announced today that the Dakota Wizards, the Warriors NBA D-League affiliate, will relocate to Santa Cruz beginning with the 2012-13 season.  

The team will be known as the Santa Cruz Warriors.  The Warriors bought the Wizards prior to the 2011-12 season and are one of 11 NBA teams to have one-to-one relationships with their NBA D-League affiliate.   

The team will play the 2012-13 NBA D-League season at the as-yet-to-be-constructed Kaiser Permanente Arena, a temporary basketball facility in Santa Cruz, the construction of which is a three-pronged effort between Golden State, the city of Santa Cruz, and the Seaside Company. 

“We’re excited to bring the NBA D-League brand of basketball to Santa Cruz and Northern California,” said NBA D-League President Dan Reed.  “The relocation of the team from Bismarck to Santa Cruz further demonstrates the Golden State Warriors’ commitment to developing top young NBA prospects in the NBA D-League.  We thank the fans in Bismarck for their support of the team over the last six NBA D-League seasons.”