The NBDL’s Albuquerque Thunderbirds – the affiliate of both the Hornets and the Orlando Magic – will host open tryouts Sunday, September 25th at the Hornets practice facility in Westwego. Local players will vie for an invitation to Thunderbirds training camp, where they will have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot.

Thunderbirds head coach and former NBA player Darvin Ham will be in attendance to personally evaluate all participants.

“The New Mexico Thunderbirds are very grateful to our NBA affiliate, the New Orleans Hornets, for their assistance with facilitating these tryouts in New Orleans and we look forward to a great partnership between the teams this coming season,” said Thunderbirds Owner Sam Bregman via a press release.

While sheer numbers stack the odds for each individual player against a training camp invite, there have been a number of success stories to come out of these types of open tryouts. Forward Shane Edwards participated in Thunderbirds open tryouts last season, and eventually made the team, averaging 12.7 points per game. These numbers earned Edwards a spot on the Denver Nuggets Las Vegas summer team roster.

Players should arrive at the Alario center at 8 a.m. for check-in and late registration, with the tryouts beginning at 9 a.m. Player registration forms can be found at www.nmtbirds.com. The cost of the tryout is $125 for those pre-registered, and $150 that register the day of the event.

For more information, e-mail cglendening@nmtbirds.com or call 505-265-3865.