Indiana has always had a special connection to basketball — and now it's the center of the hoops universe

Between the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals and the Caitlin Clark-led Fever mania, local basketball fans are having the time of their lives.

INDIANAPOLIS — There’s a phrase that’s ubiquitous in Indiana. You see it on chalkboard signs outside of bars. You hear it from fans, coaches and players. It was emblazoned on T-shirts at Game 3 of the NBA Finals. It’s even the slogan for the state’s basketball Hall of Fame.

In 49 other states, it’s just basketball. But this is Indiana.

It was in 1925, after all, that the inventor of basketball, James Naismith, watched a state high school tournament and declared Indiana “the center of the sport.”

Now, 100 years later, between a stunning Indiana Pacers run to the finals and the exploding popularity of the Indiana Fever, Naismith’s observation has never been more true.

“I realized that basketball was really special when I took my official visit here,” said Pacers center Thomas Bryant, who played two years at Indiana University before entering the NBA in 2017. “It just felt right. You felt the energy, you felt the tenacity, you felt the love of the game, and the passion that everybody brought. That's what made me fall in love with Indiana.”