Wednesday, he was in Erie, Pa., helping the Fort Wayne Mad Ants to a 106-80 victory over the Erie Bayhawks in an NBA Development League game.
Thursday he was in Indianapolis, playing nearly five productive fourth-quarter minutes for the Pacers in a loss to Milwaukee at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Friday, he was back in Fort Wayne, for a 2 p.m. practice with the Mad Ants, preparing for a game against the Iowa Energy on Saturday.
Such is life for Shayne Whittington, and for that matter, Rakeem Christmas, who have the unique circumstance — privilege, actually — of being members of two teams at once. It can be confusing sometimes, though. Talking with reporters after the Pacers' game on Thursday, Whittington was asked about Friday's practice schedule: "You guys aren't practicing, are you?"
He was momentarily confused.
"When you say, 'You guys ...'" he responded.
For Whittington and Christmas, "You guys" could mean the Pacers, or it could mean the Mad Ants. They're one of the guys on each team, with locker room stalls and apartments in both cities.
They're paid by the Pacers, and spent training camp and the pre-season games with them, but play now for the Mad Ants. That's a better option than riding the bench in the NBA, and the very reason Pacers owner Herb Simon purchased the Ants last summer. They'll improve faster playing in the D League than watching NBA games from the bench, and can do so in a system the Pacers have devised.
That means if they need to be called up to fill in for injured players, as they were on Wednesday when Ian Mahinmi and Jordan Hill were unavailable to the Pacers, they can play without feeling like strangers who crashed a party.
"Rock and I are both in shape right now," Whittington said. "We can come up here, or come down here, anytime they ask us to, to practice and get in some shots or see the guys a little bit. It's a nice little drive – an easy one, compared to a lot of teams whose affiliates are six hours away."
Aside from Joe Young and Glenn Robinson III, who have made brief appearances in Fort Wayne, Christmas leads the Mad Ants in scoring (16.9), rebounding (8.4) and blocked shots (2.4). He was dressed for Thursday's game at the Fieldhouse, but didn't play, and made a quick exit from the locker room afterward. Whittington averages 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Ants.
Both had to hustle to get to Indianapolis for Thursday's game. They rode on the Ants' team bus from Erie to Fort Wayne following Wednesday's victory, a customized vehicle with 14 beds, then drove to Indy for Thursday's game, arriving about 1 p.m.
"It was unusual," Whittington said. "But I'll make that drive any day to come back here."
Whittington, who played in 20 games for the Pacers as a rookie last season, got the call to start the fourth quarter against the Bucks. Playing 4 minutes, 44 seconds, he contributed a field goal on a driving left-handed layup by Giannis Antetokounmpo, two assists, a rebound and a blocked shot. Unfortunately for him the Pacers lost ground during that stretch, their deficit increasing from 12 points to 15, so coach Frank Vogel went with a smaller lineup.
Whittington had no complaints, being at the stage of his career when he has to be happy for whatever he can get. He feels like he's improved significantly in Fort Wayne, which is the point of it all. At 6-10, he's used in a variety of ways, playing around the basket and on the perimeter, and has expanded his skill set. He had one of his better games of the season in Erie, where he scored a team-high 19 points, hit two 3-pointers, and grabbed seven rebounds.
"I feel like I've stepped up my play a lot," he said.
Pacers assistant coach Popeye Jones sends video clips from their games to Ants coaches to display elements for Whittington and Christmas to work on, such as finishing on pick-and-roll drives to the basket. Whittington pointed with pride to the fact he used that information to get to the line for eight foul shots in Erie and converted two three-point plays while drawing a foul on drives, in addition to stepping out for 3-pointers.
Whittington also utilized that newly-developed skill to score his only field goal for the Pacers on Thursday, beating the longer and quicker Antetokounmpo for the left-handed layup off the glass.
"I think the D League has helped me out tremendously," he said.
Late Thursday, Whittington didn't yet know if he would return to Fort Wayne on Friday to practice with the Mad Ants or stay with the Pacers to dress for Saturday's game against Detroit. As it turned out, he was sent back up — down? — to Fort Wayne. Still, he enjoyed his brief reunion with the Pacers.
"They seem like long-lost brothers," he said. "Monta (Ellis) was kidding me, 'Remember me, Shayne? Who are you again?' It was good to see everybody again.
"Honestly, whatever they want me to do is fine with me. I don't mind playing, but I don't mind being here at all. It's nice to sleep in your own bed sometimes."
But which one? He has two to call his own.
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