Skyforce Start Season With Opportunity to Avenge Playoff Loss

The 26th season for the Sioux Falls Skyforce is set to begin on November 15, 2014 in the place where the previous season ended.  

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana is where the Skyforce played their last minutes of the 2013-14 season.  The ‘Force succumbed to the eventual NBADL champion Fort Wayne Mad Ants and the two teams will kick off the new slate in the same venue.

A few changes are worth noting at first glance of the upcoming schedule.  The NBA Development League is now 18 teams strong.  New divisional and Conference alignments are also part of the gauntlet with Sioux Falls part of a four-team cluster called the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.  The Iowa Energy, Fort Wayne Mad Ants and the Grand Rapids (MI) Drive will each play the Skyforce 6 times.  The rest of the teams in the Atlantic Division will face Sioux Falls 4 times each.  That leaves a combined 12 games against the Western Conference.

If starting on November 15 seems a bit early, don’t be alarmed.  It is the earliest day on the calendar that games have begun since Sioux Falls joined the D-League.  In 2003 the season began on November 14 while the Skyforce were still in the CBA.  The actual earliest calendar start for the Skyforce was November 8, 1991.

First home contest at the Sanford Pentagon is Saturday November 22 against the Iowa Energy.  A full look at the schedule can be obtained by clicking here.

To whet your hoop appetite, here are some of the best moments from late season acquisition and NBA veteran forward Craig Smith of the Skyforce.