INDIANAPOLIS – It’s November 15, 2015, and professional basketball is full of action. DeMarcus Cousins topped the NBA in scoring that night with 36 for the Sacramento Kings. Carmelo Anthony, Paul Millsap, and Jared Sullinger had big statistical outings. Kobe Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers past the Detroit Pistons. It was an action-filled day – and elsewhere, a not-yet-known impressive story was starting with the Indiana Mad Ants in the G League.
Back then, the team was known as the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. And that day, they took on the Raptors 905. Fort Wayne won by 20, and the blowout allowed a young guard from California to make his first-ever G League appearance.
It was Stephan Hicks, who goes by Steph. The Los Angeles native went undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, and that led him to the G League. More specifically, a 2015 D-League draft night trade led Hicks to Fort Wayne – he was the first-ever draft pick of then-Mad Ants general manager Brian Levy.
Hicks scored two points in his G League debut – then averaged 7.6 per game during his rookie season. On paper, it was a typical start to a professional basketball career. What few knew at the time is that Hicks would go on to be special. He’s now a franchise legend with the Mad Ants.
“From day one, just them welcoming me in,” Hicks recalled of his early impression of Fort Wayne. He wasn’t aware that it was his first game, and first season, of many.
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What made Hicks’ G League journey with the Mad Ants special?
The G League can be grueling. Players have different goals and dreams. It leads to roster turnover and odd team dynamics. It’s rare for a player to spend more than a few years with one franchise.
Yet Hicks became an exception. In year one with the Mad Ants – who are the G League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers – he played sparingly. He was nervous during his first-ever appearance and acknowledged that different emotions come with pro basketball. In year two, he became a starter and showed improvement in just about every statistical area. His third season came with growth in efficiency, then more subtle additions – rebounding being the most notable.
Already, he was three years into a G League career with one franchise. That’s close to being an anomaly.
“I just think the culture that the Mad Ants have always had,” Mad Ants head coach Tom Hankins said of what pushed Hicks to keep returning. “He just always wanted to come back.”
His fourth season featured his biggest high yet. In January of 2019, Hicks got a call up – the Pacers wanted him, and he signed a 10-day contract with the NBA club. It was his first taste of the association.
Hicks didn’t end up appearing in a game during his 10-day agreement. But he got to be part of an NBA locker room and practices, and he accomplished the goal of many in the G League by getting a call up. He made just under $50k from the contract, and it was meaningful for the Cal State-Northridge product.
“From that day one when I walked in, everybody welcomed me, introduced themselves to me, and that’s something I never really got in my life,” Hicks said of his time with the Pacers. “I might have been the 16th or 17th guy on the roster, but they treated me like I was their guy. So it meant a lot.”
For some players, getting a taste of the NBA changes their outlook on playing in the G League. They move around and keep chasing pro opportunities. Their focus and attitude drastically shifts. But that wasn’t the case for Hicks. He went back to the Mad Ants after his 10-day deal and finished out the 2018-19 season.
He stayed with Fort Wayne for another season, his fifth with one G League franchise. Then, his career took a turn as he went overseas. Hicks played in Taiwan for several months, then Russia for a few more. His teams reached the finals in both leagues that year.
Almost exactly one year after leaving the United States, Hicks returned to the G League. His loyalty, of course, led him back to the Mad Ants again for a short stint during the 2021-22 season – while his campaign was abbreviated, it was his most efficient year in the G League to date.
Hicks would have one more trip abroad, and for a loyal player it was fitting that he returned to the same team in Taiwan. But he couldn’t stay away. As the Mad Ants relocated from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis, they reunited with a familiar face. Hicks came back to the franchise once again, and he would play two more seasons with the franchise.
PORTLAND, ME - APRIL 12: Malcolm Miller of the Maine Red Claws drives to the basket as Stephan Hicks ... More plays defense for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants Wednesday, April 12, 2017. (Staff photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Altogether, this gave the California native an eight-year G League career. It all came with one organization, an unheard of feat. His career is still going – he’s still with the Mad Ants right now, and the team just qualified for the postseason.
Hicks has played with countless teammates in the G League. Right now, he is one of just two Mad Ants players remaining from the 2023-24 team. Few have a lasting impact with one franchise. Hicks did.
“There’s nobody that doesn’t like [Hicks]. He’s got no enemies. He just gets along with people,” Hankins said. “And behind the scenes, he was really good with our guys that were kind of on the end of the bench this year that didn’t play much… he kind of mentored those guys.”
That’s why the Mad Ants surprised, and celebrated, Hicks last week. At the team’s final regular season home game, they honored the veteran guard who spent so much time with the franchise.
Hicks plans to retire at the end of the season, so his long-time team made his final home game special. Every Mad Ants player warmed up with a Hicks number 17 shirt on – an idea put together by general manager Chris Taylor – and the team surprised the veteran guard by inviting his fiancé and mom to the game.
“Me coming in here, seeing my mom, seeing my fiancée, it made me happy,” he said.
The 32-year old got to start the game, which marked just his second start of the season. The Mad Ants hoped they could get him an early basket via a set play or flowing opportunity. Things worked out well as a transition chance left Hicks open for a corner three with the score still even at 0-0.
In a perfect moment, he drilled it.
At halftime, the Mad Ants celebrated the veteran guard. It was a ceremony that featured a video with messages from Levy, former Mad Ants head coach Steve Gansey, Hankins, and Taylor. The team then retired Hicks’ jersey number and took several photos.
Hicks finished the duel with three points in just under three minutes of action. Importantly for the Mad Ants, he continued to do what he has done all season and mentored younger talents on the bench.
“Any kind of veteran leadership that you can get in the G League is super valuable,” Hankins said. “It’s super important and Steph is great at it.”
A career like Hicks’ deserved to be honored. Few represent just one G League franchise for as long as he did, and there’s a chance it doesn’t happen again. It needed to be celebrated.
Hicks’ resume speaks for itself. He is the Mad Ants franchise record holder for wins (162), games played (270), points (3,115), rebounds (1,377), and single-season three-point percentage (47%). He’s second in made threes, minutes, and free throws while being third in field goals and fourth in steals. He truly did it all.
“Congratulations to him and the Mad Ants for that kind of recognition for someone who’s been that loyal,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the experience for Hicks. He watched the ceremony and thought it was all special.
Hicks will play his final games with the Mad Ants in the upcoming postseason. It will cap off a career unlike anything seen before by the franchise – and rarely in the G League in general.