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The Orlando Magic will be affiliated with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League for the 2013/14 season, the D-League announced Monday. The Mad Ants will also be affiliated with the Charlotte Bobcats, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks.
Of the 17 teams in the D-League, 14 have single-affiliation partnerships with an NBA club. As such, Fort Wayne is one of three D-League teams to be affiliated with either five or six NBA clubs.
Orlando was partnered with the Sioux Falls Skyforce for the 2012/13 season. That partnership ended in June when the Miami Heat entered a single-affiliation agreement with that club. The Heat do not own the Skyforce outright, but do control their basketball operations.
The Magic have not made extensive use of the D-League since the league's inception in 2001. Their most recent D-League transaction was signing Ish Smith from the Los Angeles D-Fenders in February 2012. Prior to that move, they sent Daniel Orton down for a tune-up with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in 2010, but the rookie center injured his knee in his second game there. He would not play in the NBA until January 2012.
The Mad Ants, who began play in 2007, are based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They play their games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
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