NBA G League’s Cleveland Charge Teams With Backyard Sports to Become the Melonheads

The Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League is teaming up with a popular sports video game franchise to take on one of the game’s most memorable identities.

On Saturday, December 27, the Charge will become the Cleveland Melonheads for one night only when they host the Delaware Blue Coats at Public Hall for Backyard Basketball Night. The Melonheads are one of the best known teams in the Backyard Sports franchise, appearing in numerous titles over the years.

The Melonheads jerseys that the Charge will don are green with wavy tonal vertical stripes to mimic the markings on a watermelon. The team name is written out in a script font across the chest, while the V-neck collar and trim around the arm holes are purple.

*Photos courtesy **@ChargeCLE** / Twitter*

The G League logo sits on the left shoulder, while the Melonheads logo from Backyard Basketball — a watermelon spinning a basketball on its finger — appears on the right shoulder. The logo of sponsor Rocket is printed in white below the front number, while another sponsor logo, truenorth convenience stores, is in white just below the collar.

While the real life jerseys in the photos on the Charge’s social media channels don’t have front numbers and none of the photos show the back of the jersey, we got an idea of what names and numbers will look like thanks to a video posted to the Backyard Sports Instagram account. Both appear to be set in a red rounded font with a purple outline.

*Screenshot via **@backyardsportsofficial** / Instagram*

Fans were able to vote on which of six classic Backyard Basketball identities the Charge would adopt for the game against Delaware. Other options included the 3-Pointers, the Hot Doggers, the Jammers, the Monsters (no relation to the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters) and the Rim Rattlers.

The Backyard Sports franchise was first launched in 1997 and includes Backyard Baseball, Backyard Soccer, Backyard Football, Backyard Basketball, Backyard Hockey and Backyard Skateboarding. It has changed ownership and developer several times since then, and it’s currently published by Playground Productions, who began their revival of the franchise with a series of remastered classic titles for mobile devices. A new original title is expected to be released in 2026.

The first 1,500 fans at Public Hall for the December 27 game will receive a special edition featuring Pablo Sanchez, a popular character from the Backyard Sports franchise, decked out in Cleveland Charge gear.