Caitlin Clark, Tyrese Haliburton smitten with Indiana: ‘This is where we both hope to stay the rest of our careers’

The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever are joined at the hip. So are their two biggest stars: point guards Tyrese Haliburton and Caitlin Clark.

That isn’t changing anytime soon, if ever.

“Ty and I would both tell you this is where we both hope to stay the rest of our careers,” Clark told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “People are like, ‘It’s a small market.’ But no, that’s what makes it fun.

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“These people, this is what means the world to them. We haven’t hosted a Finals game in 25 years, and I’ve never seen this type of excitement. People are lining up three hours before the game. I literally just got the chills thinking about it.”

Clark went on: “And they’re the same for the Fever. I think it’s just like [Pacers coach] Rick [Carlisle] said, ‘In 49 other states it’s basketball, but here it’s just really different.’ I’m really fortunate to be able to play here and he’s the same.”

The Fever made their WNBA debut in 2000, and, since then, they’ve shared resources and staff with the Pacers. They’re both owned by Herb Simon, the longest-tenured NBA and WNBA owner.

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Haliburton was sent from the Sacramento Kings to the Pacers on the eve of the 2022 NBA trade deadline. It didn’t take him long to embrace the city of Indianapolis, including the Fever. Despite the Fever winning only five games that year, Haliburton — who has a girls’ AAU basketball program, according to Clark — showed up and sat courtside.

The next season, the Fever added former South Carolina standout center Aliyah Boston as the top pick in the draft. The season after that, Clark entered, and reframed, the franchise’s picture. She came in as not only the Fever’s second straight No. 1 overall pick, but also, more notably, as NCAA Division I basketball’s all-time leading scorer.

Haliburton has watched the Fever’s return to relevancy, and Clark has seen Haliburton emerge as a household name with the Pacers’ run to the NBA Finals.

“She goes through a lot, as you know,” Haliburton said, via ESPN. “There’s a lot of weight and eyes on her. Obviously there is on me as well, but hers are amplified times a million.”

With unlimited shooting range, crafty passing and an intense swagger, Clark lifted the already-growing sport of women’s college basketball to a grander stage while leading Iowa to a pair of national runner-up finishes. Now she’s one of the most recognizable faces of the WNBA.

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Haliburton comes from the other half of the Cy-Hawk rivalry. A Wisconsin native who starred at Iowa State as a three-star recruit, his road to national stardom isn’t as well documented as Clark’s. That said, his rebound from a sluggish start to this season, and his basketball journey as a whole, have taken center stage as he’s piloted the Pacers to their first Finals appearance in 25 years.

Clutch shot after clutch shot in the face of a player poll deeming him the “most overrated” player in the league, Haliburton has authored a storybook postseason and is now two wins away from an NBA championship.

The Pacers and Fever are all gas, no brakes more often than not. Their similar run-and-gun style of play allows Haliburton and Clark to compare notes. But the gateway to conversation is already open because of a friendship that’s blossoming in Indiana.

“Basketball is a genderless language,” Haliburton said, via ESPN. “We both just love the game.”