The Indiana Pacers' affiliate is in Fort Wayne, where the Mad Ants play at Memorial Coliseum, just a two-hour trip north on I-69 from Indianapolis. The Pacers haven't used the franchise yet but not because team President Larry Bird doesn't believe in the concept.

The Pacers' roster includes two players who toiled in the NBDL last season, Andre Owens and Stephen Graham, and the team's scouting staff makes frequent trips to its games.
"There's a lot of players down there," Bird said of the D-League. "It's very important. If we had some younger players who weren't playing, I'd send them right up there."