The Indiana Fever and Indiana Pacers continue to show love and support for one another.
As women’s basketball continues to grow rapidly, so has the bond between WNBA and NBA teams in several cities. Tuesday marked the conclusion of the Indiana Fever’s 2025 media day, during which several players offered high praise for the Indiana Pacers.
It’s an exciting time for fans of Indiana basketball and the Hoosier State. The Pacers recently defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 and will move on to the second round after a chaotic game four victory over the Bucks on Wednesday. In attendance was Fever star Caitlin Clark, among several other members of the Fever. In fact, the Pacers are undefeated at 5-0 when Clark’s been present at playoff games.
The Pacers Stun Bucks And Win the Series 4-1
“I had to go look at the ESPN win probability after that.”
Caitlin Clark on the @Pacers Game 5 win over the Bucks last night. pic.twitter.com/0eFVehNYt8
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) April 30, 2025
Trailing the Bucks late in the fourth quarter, it was star guard Tyrese Haliburton who carried the Pacers to overtime with a last second dunk. Down by two points in overtime, Haliburton’s heroic acts and five points lifted the Pacers into the next round of the playoffs. The Pacers are set to play the No.1 team in the east, the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round.
Over the month’s we’ve seen Clark and Boston present during t-shirt tosses mid games, along with head coach Stephanie White, who’s been involved with broadcasting. This past week, Fever legend Tamika Catchings was present at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for game 2 of the Pacers vs Bucks series.
“The Pacers are so much fun to watch,” said Caitlin Clark on Media day Wednesday. “It’s been incredible to see [obviously] the state rally around them and how they support them. And also how they support us. Obviously how the two teams honestly support each other. Whether it’s coming to our games— Just both of us play a really fun style of basketball and they’re a really great team with a lot of different weapons.”
Similarly, several Pacers players have been spotted supporting the Fever at Gainbridge, especially Haliburton. Having one of the closest NBA and WNBA relationships, the Pacers and Fever will collaborately host Pack The Plaza Diaper Drive on May 3. Assisting Hoosier families in need, it’s the rapport between the two teams is incredible. For Indiana, it’s bigger than basketball.
Since drafting Caitlin Clark No.1 overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft, the Fever clinched a playoff berth for the the first time in eight seasons. Although defeated by the Connecticut Sun in the first-round, the future is bright. After all, the Fever were fortunate to draft Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark first overall in back to back years.
The Fever and Pacers Share Similar Rebuilding Paths
Caitlin Clark and the @IndianaFever get the Pacers crowd hyped! pic.twitter.com/AzvDaOhOix
— NBA (@NBA) April 23, 2025
The Fever assembled their first .500 season with Clark and Boston at the helm for the first time since 2015. This past offseason, the front office bolstered the roster with additions and re-signings of Kelsey Mitchell, DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, and Sophie Cunningham, just to name a few. As for the Pacers, they are one year removed from a Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Celtics. They make their second straight playoff appearance after a three year drought.
With a revamped lineup featuring one of the most elite coaches in the game, The Fever are looking for their first WNBA Championship since 2012, while the Pacers are seeking their first NBA Championship in franchise history.
Similar to the Fever, the Pacers rebuild unfolded in a blink of an eye. It all started when the Pacers traded Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for guard Tyrese Haliburton in 2022. The following season, the Pacers added key wingman Aaron Nesmith from the Celtics. Overall, the Pacers have nailed their past draft picks, including Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin
The most surprising move came in 2023, where the Pacers struck a deal with the Toronto Raptors that sent Bruce Brown, and three-first round picks in exchange for forward Pascal Siakam. With their newly constructed rosters, the Pacers and the Fever are vying to bring championships back to Indianapolis.
The Fever and Pacers Have Championship Ambitions
Having great depth is something both the Fever and Pacers have in common. Depth is a vital part of a championship run, along with health and a bit of luck sprinkled on the side.
“Their bench is really good” Caitlin Clark said about the Pacers on media day. “It’s been fun for me to be here in the off-season and kind of see how they’ve evolved from the beginning of the season until now. We’re rooting for them to go the whole way. That’d be fun to have a lot of Pacer games at the same time as Fever games.”
Clark also stressed the importance of bonding with teammates and building relationships. One of those team activities involves supporting the Pacers.
“It’s all about building relationships with your teammates,” said Clark. “That can be hard at this level when there is little time and you are always adding new pieces. Sometimes there’s cuts. Sometimes there’s trades. You’re signing new people. Being able to do that in a setting like that where everybody loves basketball, everybody loves going to support the Pacers. You still get to know your teammates and spend good quality time with them. Relationships is going to be the most important part of this.”
Although rookie Bree Hall is an Ohio native, she mentioned she’ll be “rooting for the Pacers since I’m here.” Despite being a “huge LeBron fan,” it’s clear that Hall and the Fever players are supportive of the hometown Pacers.
The Fever and Pacers Share a Large Fanbase
the squad welcomes Caitlin Clark to Indy 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ZRhUPqax1i
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) April 15, 2024
If there’s one takeaway from Fever media day, Gainbridge Fieldhouse is the ultimate experience for basketball fans. This is especially important considering WNBA attendance was up 48 percent from 2023. In fact, the Fever smashed the home attendance record with 340,715 fans last season.
Fever guard Lexie Hull was recently in the house for the Pacers game winning thriller in overtime against the Bucks. Gloating about the environment, Hull praised the experience, along with the fans.
“What an experience,” said Lexie Hull. “We were about to leave, and then we saw they [Pacers] came back. Gainbridge and the fans in Grainbridge make a difference. Being in that atmosphere makes me really excited for our season to start. Makes me really excited for a playoff push. Makes me really excited to finally host playoff games because the energy in there was really, really cool.”
The mutual support between the Pacers and Fever is a beauty to watch, as that’s the hope for more WNBA and NBA teams in the future. With more visibility on women’s sports, the more it will gain traction and visibility. The overall support and crossover should leverage popularity among women’s sports as a whole.
If there’s one thing we know, the Pacers and Fever have strong ties that are backed by the city of Indianapolis. With that, they have one of the strongest connections among WNBA and NBA teams.
The Pacers will venture onto the next second round of the NBA playoffs, which will begin May 4 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Fever are set to play their first preseason matchup on May 3 against the Washington Mystics. Clark and company will open the regular season on May 20 on the road against the Atlanta Dream.
Stay tuned for more NBA and WNBA related articles.
Sara Jane Gamelli is a full-time Writer, Journalist, Content Creator, Managing Editor, and Manager for Ballislife Bets. She has a focus on the NBA, WNBA, NCAA Basketball, and the NFL. Sara Jane currently resides in the Connecticut/NYC area with her Cat and Dog. SJ has her undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut in Economics, with a minor in business administration.
