The entry to Bankers Life Fieldhouse. (Photo by Berry Tramel)

Bankers Life Fieldhouse, which was christened Conseco Fieldhouse, opened in 1999. Can you believe it? America’s greatest gymnasium is 18 years old. Time flies.

I’d always heard that Bankers Life was the NBA’s best arena. Built to replicate a classic Indiana gym, only bigger and with all the requisite bells and whistles, Bankers Life pulled it off.

From the oval roof to the virtual museum on the concourses, Bankers Life Fieldhouse screams basketball. Not concerts. Not big events. Basketball.