They were founded as the Indianapolis Kautskys and used that name until the team joined the BAA.

They played for one year in the BAA and then ceased operations due to the formation of the Indianapolis Olympians.

With the Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, and Fort Wayne Pistons, the team moved to the Basketball Association of America (BAA) for the 1948–49 season.

At that time the team's name was changed to the Indianapolis Jets because the BAA prevented its teams from having commercial sponsors, similar to how the Fort Wayne Pistons removed the Zollner sponsor from their original name.

This coincided with the BAA and the NBL merging to form the National Basketball Association (NBA).