After the Indiana Pacers clinched their second NBA Finals berth in franchise history, head coach Rick Carlisle told the hometown fans and national TV audience what they already knew: "In 49 states it's just basketball, but this is Indiana."
Between the movie Hoosiers, Damon Bailey packing high school gyms, Larry Bird's run at Indiana State, and Bobby Knight putting Indiana University on the map, Indiana is the national hub of all things hoops, and with the Pacers and Fever's recent success, it has only added fuel to the fire.
Governor Mike Braun, who played high school basketball at Jasper High School before attending Harvard in Boston, is a diehard Pacers fan with a soft spot for Larry Bird. He recently declared the Pacers a "team of destiny."
"Basketball to Hoosiers, it's 49 other states, and then there's Indiana," the governor told Fox. "It means a lot, because the Pacers have been always competitive, but never been quite in that position to win it. And this isn't one with authority other than they now have become a team of destiny, it seems almost."
Braun was 19 years old when the Pacers won their last title, defeating the Kentucky Colonels in the 1974 ABA championship, taking down Hall of Famers Dan Issel and Artis Gilmore in seven games.
Braun knows that Indiana, unlike California, New York, Florida, and Texas, is not exactly a destination state. While he and Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma are working to change that, the Finals are doing a lot to draw attention to some overlooked states.
"I've always loved it when I was in sports and even as a politician, and there's something about it," he continued. "When it works out, it's even sweeter. So that spotlight's going on Indiana, the same spotlight on Oklahoma, two states that are not in the national limelight. Of course, we are now, and I'm savoring every minute of it."
The Pacers will host the Thunder in Game 3 on Wednesday, the first Finals game played in the Hoosier State since 2000.
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