Having the respect and admiration of the home-team fans can make life in the NBA more pleasant. But a more important aspect of NBA life is having the respect of your teammates.
Former Butler star Kalen Martin begins his tenure with the Indiana Pacers having plenty of the former after four record-setting and productive years with the Bulldogs. His ability to quickly earn the latter has stood out to first-year coach Nate Bjorkgren during the early part of Pacers training camp.
"The players come up to me and mention his name and they like what he brings to this team," Bjorkgren said.