Growing up just outside of Indianapolis in the small rural town of Richmond, Indiana, Jamin Armstead wasn’t always bleeding blue and gold. In fact, he spent much of his youth cheering for another team entirely—one 180 miles away in Chicago.
“I didn’t have anyone to root for,” Armstead told KB Sports Media. And for a kid in the Midwest in the mid-1980s, that made sense. The Chicago Bulls were magnetic, and Michael Jordan had just entered the NBA when Armstead was only 10 years old. He proudly wore MJ jerseys and celebrated Jordan’s slam dunks and scoring titles, long before his first championship in 1991.
At that time, the Indiana Pacers were still building their identity. They had recently drafted a skinny, sharp-shooting guard from UCLA named Reggie Miller. Talented, yes—but not MJ. Even as a die-hard Indiana University (IU) fan, Armstead didn’t immediately adopt the Pacers.
“I wasn’t upset that they didn’t draft Steve Alford,” Armstead says, referencing the beloved IU legend many Hoosiers hoped would land with the Pacers. “Reggie was great—but MJ was MJ.”
It wasn’t until Jordan’s first retirement in 1993 that Armstead began to look closer to home. By then, he was a 19-year-old student at IU, and the Pacers were entering one of their most thrilling eras—battling for Eastern Conference dominance against Patrick Ewing’s Knicks and a rising Orlando Magic squad led by Shaquille O’Neal.
On May 7, 1995, everything changed for Armstead. “When Reggie scored 8 points in 9 seconds against the Knicks, I knew I was a Pacers fan for life,” he says. Though Indiana didn’t reach the Finals that year, that iconic moment forever etched Reggie and the Pacers into NBA lore—and into Armstead’s heart.
Over the years, his fandom only grew deeper. While Reggie’s heroics remain his favorite memory, one of the most surprising entries on Armstead’s list is the Malice at the Palace.
“That moment was ugly, no doubt,” he admits. “But what I saw was the players having each other’s backs—even at the cost of their careers and reputations. To me, that shows loyalty and brotherhood.”
Through eras led by stars like Danny Granger and Paul George, Armstead stayed loyal. Now, with Tyrese Haliburton at the helm, he sees something special—a spark, a sense of purpose, and leadership that gives Pacers fans real hope.
“Haliburton feels like the guy who can carry this team,” he says. “He plays smart, he’s unselfish, and you can tell the team believes in him.”
That belief stretches far beyond the locker room. Across Indiana—from Richmond to Bloomington to downtown Indianapolis—fans are rallying around a team that has come so close in the past, only to fall just short.
“This means a lot to the state,” Armstead says. “We’ve had so many chances, but never got over the hump. This feels different. This feels like our year.”
The task ahead isn’t easy. Indiana faces Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a tough, disciplined Oklahoma City Thunder team in the Finals. But Armstead is confident.
“If we play smart, lock in on both ends, and let Haliburton lead, we have a real shot.”
And now, the moment is finally here.
The NBA Finals tip off tonight at 8:30 p.m. EDT on ABC. Whether you’ve been Pacers for life or, like Jamin Armstead, found your way back home after rooting elsewhere—this is a night for Indiana. A night for hope. A night for history.
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