The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Pacers play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, which they share with their WNBA counterpart, the Indiana Fever, also owned by Herb Simon.

The Indiana Pacers began play in 1967 as members of the American Basketball Association (ABA), in which they won three championships and created a dynasty. In 1976, the Pacers moved from the ABA to the NBA. The financial strains from the move led to the ending of the Indiana dynasty and the beginnings of many struggles for the Pacers organization in the subsequent decade. The acquisition of Reggie Miller in 1987 marked the start of a long resurgence for the franchise that peaked with its appearance in the 2000 NBA Finals. The Pacers would miss the 2007 playoffs for the first time since 1997. They returned to the postseason in 2011.

In early 1967, a group of six investors (among them attorney Richard Tinkham, John DeVoe, Chuck DeVoe, sports agent Chuck Barnes and Indianapolis Star sports writer Bob Collins) pooled their resources to purchase a franchise in the proposed American Basketball Association.

Indiana (ⁱ/ɪndiˈænə/) is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the midwestern and Great Lakes regions of North America. Indiana is the 38th largest by area and the 15th most populous of the 50 United States. Indiana is the least extensive state in the continental US west of the Appalachian Mountains. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis, the second largest of any state capital and largest state capital east of the Mississippi River.

Before it became a territory, varying cultures of indigenous peoples and historic Native Americans inhabited Indiana for thousands of years. Angel Mounds State Historic Site, one of the best preserved ancient earthwork mound sites in the United States, can be found in Southwestern Indiana near Evansville. Residents of Indiana are known as Hoosiers. The etymology of the word is disputed, but the leading theory as advanced by the Indiana Historical Bureau and the Indiana Historical Society has "Hoosier" originating from the upland South region of the U.S. as a derogatory slang term for a rough countryman, a country bumpkin.

Dwight David Howard (born December 8, 1985) is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Howard, who usually plays center but can also play power forward, had an outstanding high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. He chose to forgo college and entered the 2004 NBA Draft, and was selected first overall by the Magic. A six-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA team selection, five-time All-Defensive member, and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Howard has been ranked consistently as one of the best in the league in rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and free throw attempts, and has set numerous franchise and league records. He has led the Magic to three division titles and one conference title, and he was the winner of the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. In the 2008 Olympics, he was the starting center for Team USA, which went on to win the gold medal.

Before he was drafted in 2004, Howard said that he wanted to use his NBA career and Christian faith to "raise the name of God within the league and throughout the world". In November 2009, he was named one of the 10 finalists for the Jefferson Awards for Public Service, which awards athletes for their charitable work.

Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is an American professional basketball player with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After receiving no athletic scholarship offers out of high school and being undrafted out of college, the 2010 Harvard University graduate reached a partially guaranteed contract deal later that year with his hometown Golden State Warriors.

Lin seldom played in his rookie season and was assigned to the NBA Development League (D-League) three times. He was waived by the Warriors and the Houston Rockets the following preseason before joining the Knicks early in the 2011–12 season. He was again assigned to the D-League and continued to play sparingly. In February 2012, he unexpectedly led a winning streak by New York while being promoted to the starting lineup, which generated a global following known as Linsanity. Lin is one of the few Asian Americans in NBA history, and the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the league. He is known for his public expression of the Christian faith.

Danny Granger, Jr. (born April 20, 1983) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA. He is mainly a small forward, though he does log time at the power forward position. He is also able to initiate the team's offense and so is regarded as one who can play the point forward position. Before his professional career, he went to Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana where he was a McDonald's All-American nominee before his senior year. He was a good student who scored a 30 on the ACT and was offered admission to Yale University. He played for Bradley University and then transferred to University of New Mexico in the middle of his sophomore year.

Granger started his collegiate career at Bradley University where he played the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons. After a lackluster 12–18 season in 2002–03, he transferred to the University of New Mexico, where he began playing during the second semester of his junior season in 2003–04, although he wasn't eligible to start playing for the Lobos until January, 2004. He said the reason for the transfer was because of Braves head coach Jim Les's intimidating tactics, including being 'verbally abusive'. In 2004–05, he became the first player in school history to get 60 assists, 60 blocks and 60 steals in a season. He won the Mountain West Conference tournament MVP and led the Lobos to the NCAA tournament.