New York City is often hailed as the “Mecca of Basketball,” and it’s a fair argument. The Knicks may not have lifted an NBA title in over 50 years, but their fans remain some of the loudest and most passionate in the game. Still, calling it the undisputed basketball capital might be a stretch. Fly just under 650 miles west to Indiana, and you’ll find a different—but equally intense—breed of basketball fanatics ready to stake their own claim.
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Indiana, renowned for the Indianapolis 500 race and its extensive manufacturing history, is undeniably a basketball state. One that has witnessed its fair share of ups and downs when it comes to basketball.
Recently, the Hoosier natives have been on top of the world. Their chances of celebrating a championship have been boosted tenfold, and the attention is firmly on their city’s superstars, WNBA’s Caitlin Clark and two-time NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton.
Support for the Pacers—and the Fever—has always been strong. On his podcast, Paul George acknowledged the turnaround brought by Clark, but not without first shedding light on the history that led up to it.
“[The support for the Fever] started a long time ago. We used to support Tamika Catchings. Tamika Catchings is a Hall of Famer—one of the best forwards to ever play the game. And we used to go to support. We would buy tickets to fill out their playoff games out. We would go to the games and vice versa,” the ex-Pacer said.
“I think it’s just different in Indiana, bro. It’s different. For one, the city loves the game of basketball. So, the fact that both teams are at the highest level right now is just amazing for the city. But that’s that started a little while ago.”
However, George provided further context by informing his co-hosts that the Fever experienced a rough patch.
“They have star power now. I remember when I was there, Tamika [Catchings] was there early on. My first couple of years in Indiana, the women had a pretty good support system around them, and then it fell off, and] it dipped. [After that], the Indiana Fever wasn’t doing as well.”
In 2012, the franchise reached its pinnacle by winning the WNBA championship, led by Catchings. However, after her retirement in 2016, the Fever entered a prolonged rebuilding phase.
From 2017 to 2023, Indiana missed the playoffs every year, enduring six consecutive seasons with 20 or more losses. Coaching changes, roster instability, and unsuccessful draft picks plagued the franchise, resulting in the league’s worst cumulative record during that stretch.
But today is a new day. The state, which basketball’s inventor James Naismith once called “the center of the sport,” is now being uplifted by its new young WNBA star.
“But you have a superstar in Caitlyn Clark, who’s electrifying in a place where they bleed basketball. They have a superstar like Caitlyn Clark… she’s packing houses on the road. You know she’s filling the arena.”
George, who requested a trade away from the Midwestern state in 2017, may have underestimated the Caitlin Clark Effect!
Caitlin Clark’s rookie season ignited a significant increase in WNBA revenues. According to a study by Indiana University, 26.5% of all 2024 WNBA economic activity (tickets, merchandise, media, etc.) is attributed to the arrival of Caitlin Clark.
Subsequently, the Fever’s home games averaged over 17,000 fans in 2024, making it the first WNBA team to exceed 300,000 total attendances in a season.
And then there’s Haliburton, who was voted the NBA’s most overrated player in an anonymous poll — and now he’s out for blood. The young guard has breathed fresh air into the Pacers, and his heroics in the 2025 postseason have put Indiana just one win away from making the Finals for the first time since 2000.
A win there against Oklahoma (assuming the Knicks don’t win two straight against the Pacers) would send Indiana into absolute raptures.
Towards the end of his passionate words about his former home, PG expressed his happiness and admiration for the resurgence of basketball in Indiana. “I’m happy, you know. I’m long removed from there, but I’m happy that you know Indiana is in great hands.”
