One of the most important buildings in basketball history will be getting the NBA Cup treatment this season.
Historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the home of Butler University’s basketball program and one of the filming locations for the classic sports movie ‘Hoosiers’ (which turns 40 this year), will be hosting the NBA Cup Championship game next season.
The announcement, made by the league on Tuesday, will mark the first time that a regular season basketball game is played at the 98-year-old arena since 1953.
Hinkle has played host to multiple major basketball games throughout its history – including many rounds of the NCAA Tournament during the Covid-impacted 2021 season. It also played host to the East Regional of the same tournament in 1940.
Nicknamed ‘Indiana’s Basketball Cathedral,’ the venue was also the home of the NBA’s Indianapolis Olympians from 1949 until their folding 1953.
Collegiately, the building has been home to the Butler Bulldogs (now of the Big East Conference) since its opening in 1928. Butler reached back-to-back national championships in 2010 and 2011 under now-Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens – losing to Duke and UConn.
Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University will host the 2026 NBA Cup Final
Hinkle Fieldhouse opened in 1928 and has hosted presidents and power forwards alike
Hinkle Fieldhouse was the filming location for the championship scene of the movie ‘Hoosiers’
Reaction to this news was overwhelmingly positive across social media – with basketball fans and media praising the move.
‘Best idea ever!’ posted longtime college basketball analyst Seth Davis. ‘Coaches should be required to ask their players to use a tape measure to assess the height of the rims,’ he added – referencing the famous movie.
‘Best decision the league has made in YEARS. Count me in,’ wrote one fan.
Another said, ‘This is probably one of the coolest things the league has done in recent memory.’
Hinkle has hosted events including speeches from at least six US presidents and various other attractions including circuses and ice shows.
In pop culture, Hinkle may best be known as the home of the Indiana High School Boy’s Basketball championship.
It was at Hinkle in 1954 when Milan High School defeated a physically larger Muncie Central High School team to win the state title. Milan’s victory – known in the state as the ‘Milan Miracle’ – became the inspiration for the fictitious Hickory High School in the 1986 movie ‘Hoosiers.’ The final scenes of the movie’s championship game were filmed at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson is seen during his Villanova days playing against Butler in 2017
One of many basketball clinics at Hinkle Fieldhouse is pictured in this photo from 2010
Future Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges trap Butler’s Andrew Chrabascz
Additionally, in 1955 and 1956, Indianapolis’ Crispus Attucks High School – led by future NBA champion, MVP and Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson – became the first all-black high school to win consecutive state basketball titles and did so on Hinkle’s floor.
This marks the first time the NBA Cup Final will be held outside Las Vegas, which hosted the previous three finals.
‘Hinkle Fieldhouse offers a special setting to capture the excitement and drama of the Emirates NBA Cup Championship,’ NBA Head of Global Events Kelly Flatow said when announcing the move.
‘Playing the championship in an iconic basketball environment like this will further establish it as a signature moment on the NBA calendar.’
The Los Angeles Lakers won the first NBA Cup in 2023 – followed by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024 and the New York Knicks last season.
The Knicks then went on to become the first team in NBA history to win ‘the double’ and claimed the NBA Finals title in five games over the San Antonio Spurs – the same team they beat in the NBA Cup Final.
