Overview
- The Indiana Pacers enter Wednesday’s Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse with the NBA Finals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder tied 1-1, marking their first title appearance in 25 years.
- Fever guard Caitlin Clark is slated to return from a quadriceps injury on June 15 against the New York Liberty, a development that could reverse a 55% slump in national WNBA viewership.
- Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith predicted that Indianapolis will “be rocking and loud” for its first NBA Finals home game since 2000 as fans prepare to pack the arena.
- Hall of Fame owner Herb Simon, whose stewardship of both the Pacers and Fever spans more than four decades, has been credited by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for the city’s basketball resurgence.
- Indianapolis’s storied basketball pedigree—from legends Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson to Bob Knight’s undefeated Hoosiers and this summer’s WNBA All-Star game—underscores its status as a basketball epicenter.