Vegas Summer League is usually where you go to watch guys fighting for two-way contracts and rookies getting their first real NBA reps. But Friday night at the Thomas and Mack Center, the real star power was sitting courtside.
Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, both in town because the Indiana Fever play the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, rolled up to watch the Pacers take on the Cavaliers. The NBA shared a clip of them in the building and it spread fast. Two of the Fever’s biggest names taking in a Summer League game in July. That’s the kind of crossover that makes the Indiana basketball scene feel smaller and tighter than it actually is.
The Pacers won 99-93. They basically won the game in the third quarter, outscoring Cleveland 32-15 while shooting 43 percent from the floor. Rienk Mast put up 16 points and 11 rebounds. Taevion Kinsey also scored 16. Jalen Slawson stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks. Taelon Peter added 13. Braden Smith chipped in 5 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Solid Summer League stuff, but let’s be real — the headline here is who was watching.
Clark and Boston have been regulars at Pacers home games all season. When Indiana made that run to the NBA Finals in 2025, they were both courtside cheering. It’s a mutual admiration thing too. The Pacers have shown up for Fever games, and the Fever have returned the favor. That kind of cross-team support doesn’t happen everywhere, but in Indiana it feels natural.
Clark’s rookie WNBA season has been a story in itself. She’s averaging 20.5 points, 7.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds through 18 games, even while battling through back problems. The Fever are 13-9 and have won six of their last 10. Boston is putting up 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds a night. The Fever look like a real playoff team, and having two stars who also show up to Summer League games in July says something about how locked in they are.
The Pacers have three more Summer League games on deck. They play the 76ers on Saturday, the Raptors on Monday and the Timberwolves on Wednesday. Whether Clark and Boston show up again is anyone’s guess. But they’ve already made it clear they’re all in on Indiana basketball, and that’s not changing anytime soon.
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