Fort Wayne Mad Ants

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum is the home venue for the team. The team is the first minor league basketball franchise to play in Fort Wayne since the Fort Wayne Fury of the Continental Basketball Association. The Mad Ants won their first D-League championship in 2014. In September 2015, the Indiana Pacers purchased the Mad Ants and became the Pacers' one-to-one Development League affiliate.[3]

Fort Wayne Mad Ants
LeagueNBA G League
Founded2007
HistoryFort Wayne Mad Ants
2007–present
ArenaAllen County War Memorial Coliseum
LocationFort Wayne, Indiana
Team colorsNavy blue, gold, cool gray[1][2]
     
General managerBrian Levy
Head coachTom Hankins
OwnershipIndiana Pacers
Affiliation(s)Indiana Pacers
Championships1 (2014)
Conference titles2 (2014, 2015)
Division titles2 (2014, 2018)
Websitefortwayne.gleague.nba.com

History

In April 2007, the NBA Development League (D-League) announced it was expanding to Fort Wayne in 2007–08 season.[4] The franchise held a name-the-team contest on their website where fans could vote on one of the four finalists: Lightning, Fire, Coyotes, and Mad Ants. The winning name of Mad Ants was chosen as a salute to the city's and fort's namesake, General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.[5]

For the 2007–08 season, the Mad Ants were affiliated with the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers. The Pistons were founded in Fort Wayne by industrialist and piston manufacturing company owner Fred Zollner as the Zollner Pistons, before moving to Detroit in 1957. The Mad Ants added the Milwaukee Bucks as their third affiliate for the 2008–09 season. The Bucks were previously a parent club for the Tulsa 66ers until Professional Basketball Club, LLC (owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder) purchased the 66ers to be Oklahoma City's exclusive affiliate.[6]

In 2012–13, the Mad Ants, in addition to their affiliations with the Pistons, Pacers, and Bucks, were also affiliated with the Charlotte Bobcats.[7]

In 2013–14, the Mad Ants made it to the D-League Finals for the first time with a 126–118 victory over the Sioux Falls Skyforce, winning the second round series 2–0.[8] The Mad Ants defeated the Santa Cruz Warriors 2–0 in the Finals series to claim their first D-League title.[9] Following that season, the Mad Ants were affiliated with the remaining NBA teams that did not have exclusive affiliates, after the Phoenix Suns and the Orlando Magic associated with the Bakersfield Jam and the Erie BayHawks respectively, and D-League teams were created for both the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks.

In September 2015, Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E) purchased the Mad Ants, thus making the team the Pacers' one-to-one D-League affiliate. Brian Levy was named general manager by PS&E.[10] In 2017, the Mad Ants changed their colors to navy blue, gold, cool gray and white, the same colors as their parent club, the Indiana Pacers. Also in 2017, the Developments League was rebranded as the NBA G League following a sponsorship deal with Gatorade.

The Mad Ants were featured in the 'MyCareer' mode in NBA 2K19, a basketball game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports.

Season-by-season
Season-by-season records
Season Division Regular season Postseason results
FinishWinsLossesPct.
Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2007–08Central4th1733.340
2008–09Central5th1931.380
2009–10Eastern5th2228.440
2010–11Eastern3rd2426.480
2011–12Eastern8th1436.280
2012–13Eastern2nd2723.540Lost First Round (Santa Cruz) 0–2
2013–14Eastern1st3416.680Won First Round (Reno) 2–0
Won Semifinals (Sioux Falls) 2–0
Won Championship (Santa Cruz) 2–0
2014–15Central2nd2822.560Won First Round (Maine) 2–0
Won Semifinals (Canton) 2–0
Lost Championship (Santa Cruz) 0–2
2015–16Central5th2030.400
2016–17Central2nd3020.600Lost First Round (Maine) 1–2
Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2017–18Central1st2921.580Lost Conf. Semifinal (Erie) 116–119
2018–19Central3rd2327.460
2019–20Central4th2122.488Season cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic
Regular season record308335.4792007–2020
Playoff record117.6112007–2020

Current roster
Roster listing
Fort Wayne Mad Ants roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F 10 Bowen, Brian (TW) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998–10–02 La Lumiere (IN)
G 17 Hicks, Stephan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1992–04–02 Cal State Northridge
G/F 12 McCall, D. J. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1995–10–23 IUPUI
G 8 Miles, Daxter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1995–01–05 West Virginia
G – Stanley, Cassius (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999–08–18 Duke
F 25 Thibodeaux, Travin 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 242 lb (110 kg) 1996–02–16 New Orleans
G 16 Wilcox, C. J. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1990–12–30 Washington
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Norman Richardson
  • Jhared Simpson
  • Dan Rosselli (Athletic Trainer)
  • Collin Brown (Head Physical Therapist)
  • Jason Manikowski (Strength & Conditioning Coach)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (NBA) On assignment from NBA affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • (I) Inactive
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2019–12–11

Head coaches
Head coaches of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants
# Head coach Term Regular season Playoffs Achievements
GWLWin%GWLWin%
1Jaren Jackson2007–091003664.360————
2Joey Meyer2009–121506090.400————
3Duane Ticknor2012–13502723.540202.000
4Conner Henry2013–151006238.62012102.833Won Championship (2013–14)
5Steve Gansey2015–2020243123120.506413.250
5Tom Hankins2020–present000–000–

NBA affiliates

See also

References
  1. Wiening, Logan (July 8, 2017). "Mad Ants Unveil New Look at Three Rivers Festival Parade". NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  2. "Fort Wayne Mad Ants Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  3. Pacers buy D-League's Mad Ants to enhance player development
  4. "NBA selects Fort Wayne for D-League franchise". The Journal Gazette. April 10, 2007. Archived from the original on May 1, 2007.
  5. "The Ants Are Coming!". NBA Development League. June 18, 2007. Archived from the original on August 8, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  6. "NBA Development League". Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  7. Greene, Dana (July 17, 2012). "Reno Bighorns new Jazz D-League affiliate". ABC4.com. KTVX. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  8. "NBA Development League: Skyforce at Mad Ants Game Info". Archived from the original on April 22, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  9. Fort Wayne Mad Ants Capture 2014 NBA Development League Title Archived April 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  10. Brian Levy Named General Manager of Fort Wayne Mad Ants
  11. Warden, Steve (September 25, 2008). "TV plot bringing team to 'Tree Hill'". The Journal Gazette. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
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