Madison Square Garden has celebrity row and a famous-person hierarchy, but nestled in the heart of Indianapolis, Gainbridge Fieldhouse has Caitlin Clark, who is apparently the Pacers’ undefeated courtside MVP.
In fact, Indiana is now 7-0 in the playoffs with Clark on-site, including the Game 6 Eastern Conference Finals closeout, where the Pacers took down the New York Knicks. They'll head to the NBA Finals to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
No doubt, Indiana basketball has fully re-entered the national spotlight, between Clark, Aliyah Boston, Lexie Hull, Sophie Cunningham, Kelsey Mitchell and the Fever, and the Finals-bound Pacers. The two teams have become unexpectedly linked. Clark is a courtside presence, and dare we say the Pacers are feeding off it.
Pacers have a perfect record with Clark courtside
After recording double-doubles in three of the Fever’s first four regular-season games, Clark has been sidelined for two weeks with a quad injury. Despite that, she’s still signing autographs, greeting and speaking to fans and taking her role as ambassador to a growing WNBA audience seriously.
But if you’re a Pacers fan, you’re probably leaning even more into her off-court role as NBA postseason support system. Seven appearances and seven wins? The injured star they share a building with seems to be a pretty powerful playoff lucky charm.
Will the streak continue in the Finals?
Clark is averaging 19.0 points, 9.3 assists and 6.0 rebounds through her first four games, but the Fever will be without her for at least another week. The good news for Pacers fans? The Finals schedule doesn’t overlap with Indiana’s next stretch, meaning Clark could still pop in for support. At this point, keeping the streak alive feels important.