Boom, baby! The Pacers' G League team rebrands, pays tribute to Slick Leonard

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NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Boom, baby! The Indiana Pacers' G League team has rebranded.

The Pacers announced Wednesday that their G League team will be called the Noblesville Boom — the nickname being a nod to longtime Pacers coach and broadcaster Slick Leonard's infamous catch phrase of “boom, baby!”

The Boom will begin play next season in Noblesville, an Indianapolis suburb.

“We’re thrilled to tip off an exciting new era for our G League team, the Noblesville Boom, while honoring the legacy and global brand power of the Indiana Pacers,” Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines said.

Leonard was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2014. He played seven seasons in the NBA, then coached the Pacers to three ABA championships and eventually became a broadcaster. And as the story goes, “boom, baby” was something he yelled once after a big shot during his coaching career. It immediately stuck and became part of Pacers' lore.

The Pacers even had “Boom Baby!” painted on the sideline of the court they used for home NBA Cup games this season.

The team — formerly known as the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Indiana Mad Ants — joined the G League in 2007 and played in Fort Wayne until 2023, then spent the last two seasons playing in Indianapolis. The Mad Ants nickname was in tribute to “Mad” Anthony Wayne, a general in the Revolutionary War, a member of the U.S. Congress and the namesake of Fort Wayne.

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