The time has come to take a new step in the top-5 of the NBA franchises, now focusing on the central division to take care of one of the historic organizations, the Indiana Pacers.
Reggie Miller
Saying Indiana is saying Reggie Miller. The player with the most games played, the most points scored, the most assists distributed and the most stolen balls in the history of the Pacers. The mythical '31' is an institution of the Indianapolis franchise, where he spent 18 seasons to mark the best era in the history of the organization in the NBA with five appearances in the Eastern Conference finals and one appearance in the Finals.
It was just in the 1999-2000 season when this Californian legend led the Pacers to the League Finals. By eliminating the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks (their staunchest rival) they would be in the final eliminator against Los Angeles Lakers of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. There Indiana fought with everything, and the truth is that he had options; especially if in the fourth game that triple had gone in at Miller's buzzer that would have made the series 2-2. Finally, an incontestable Shaq would put an end to Miller's dream.
That was their best season on a collective level, but Miller's story is much bigger. There were 14 consecutive campaigns reaching an average of at least 16 points per night, five All-Star selections, three appearances in the best NBA quintet and his inclusion in the exclusive '50-40-90' club. A career of loyalty to a team and passion for a sport that makes him deservedly the first in the ranking of the best players in the history of the Pacers.
The data. May 11, 1995. That was the day Miller left one of the legendary moments in NBA history by scoring 8 points in 9 seconds to silence Madison Square Garden.
Rick Smiths
We continue with Reggie Miller's most faithful companion: Rik Smits. Born in Holland and standing 2,23 meters tall, Smits would join the Pacers in 1988 as number '2' in the draft to become a key piece of a team that would find itself throughout the 90s in the draft. Eastern Conference elite.
Playing up to 867 games with the Pacers (the second with the most games after Miller), Smits would close his time with the Indianapolis team averaging 14,8 points, 6,1 rebounds and 1,3 blocks, the latter average making him the second player with the most blocks in the history of the organization with a total of 1.111. The consistency that he showed throughout his career was rewarded in 1998, the year in which he was chosen for the All-Star.
His retirement would come shortly after being chosen for the All-Star Game. Exactly what happened in 2000, just after playing the only Finals of his career, which ended in a 4-2 defeat against Los Angeles Lakers.
The data. With a privileged wrist to shoot from anywhere on the court, Rik Smits is currently the second player with the most points in the playoffs in franchise history with a total of 1.537.
George McGinnis
It's time to take an important leap into the past to look at a player who lived two stages in the team – the first in the ABA and the second in the NBA – to become a true legend of the Pacers: George McGinnis.
Landing in the Indianapolis franchise in 1971, this boy showed the best basketball of his career playing at home, since he was born on August 12, 1950 in Indianapolis. In his home, before his family and friends, he would reach the best level of his career; so much so that in a great 1974-75 campaign he would end up sharing the ABA MVP with Julius Erving. In that season McGinnis would average 29,8 points, 14,3 rebounds, 6,3 assists and 2,6 steals.
As an individual he would be an All-Star three times in the ABA league and three times in the NBA, but on a collective level his successes would come in the first stage, as he would be champion in the tricolor ball competition with the Pacers in 1972 and 1973. However, that great moment would not continue in the NBA, since he would be chosen by the 76ers and play with them between 1975 and 1978. After also passing through Denver, he would return to Indiana in 1979 to play with them for the last three seasons of his career. .
The data. His great performance with the Indianapolis organization was rewarded by the team retiring the number '30' that he wore.
Jermaine O'Neal
'The other'. This is how Andrés Montes defined Jermaine O'Neal and he had no shortage of reasons. Jumping directly from high school to the NBA, for four seasons this boy from South Carolina – who shares a last name with Shaquille – played for the Blazers without having enough minutes to exploit his talent. However, that situation changed so drastically with his arrival in Indianapolis that he became a six-time All-Star, was voted Most Improved Player in 2002 and led the Pacers to six consecutive appearances in the playoffs.
Of those postseason runs, the most productive was 2004. In that year, the Pacers beat Boston in the first round 4-0, beating the Miami with more difficulties Heat 4-2, and would end up falling in the conference finals against what would be the NBA champions, the Detroit Pistons, 4-2. Jermaine O'Neal, leader of that team, averaged 19,1 points, 9,1 rebounds and 2,3 blocks in those playoffs. Although he would maintain a high level in the following campaigns, he would not go that far with the Indianapolis team again; something that was not helped by that famous fight in November 2004 with the Detroit Pistons that caused a very harsh sanction to his teammate Ron Artest.
The data. Jermaine would leave the Pacers in 2008 to remain today the top blocker in franchise history both in the regular season (1.245) and in the playoffs (120).
Paul George
We close the top-5 talking about the last great stage of the Pacers, which has had Paul George as the undisputed protagonist. Chosen in position number 10 in the 2010 draft, this Californian boy grew little by little in the Indiana discipline until he was the great star of a team that became the biggest threat in the East for the 2012-13 season. of the Miami Heat of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, a team that would end the hopes of those from Indianapolis on three consecutive occasions (2012, 2013 and 2014).
The closest the Pacers came to claiming victory was in 2013. That year, Paul George's contribution in the playoffs increased to 19,2 points, 7,4 rebounds, 5,1 assists and 1,3 steals. It was not enough. Indiana would fall in seven games. A year later, history would repeat itself to reach the conference finals and be defeated by Florida, this time 4-2. It was in that summer of 2014 when Paul George would suffer a very serious injury with Team USA that, however, he came out even more strengthened to achieve his best scoring averages in his last campaign with the Pacers, 2016-17. However, his excellent level was not accompanied by that of a squad that by then did not make it past the first round.
As a member of the Indiana franchise he would be an All-Star four times (six in total) and would be chosen twice for the second best quintet in the League (2013 and 2016). Although his ability to score points is beyond doubt, even his defense stands out more. Proof of this is that in 2014 he was chosen for the best defensive quintet, an honor that he would repeat in 2019 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The data. With three choices as best player of the month, he is the one who has received this award the most times in the Indiana franchise along with Jermaine O'Neal.
Other players under consideration
As it could not be otherwise, we begin this section with two of George McGinnis' teammates in the Pacers who dominated the ABA. Thus, we opened the way with Roger Brown, who would be a three-time champion with the team and who would be named MVP of the 1970 playoffs; and we continue it with Mel Daniels, a two-time ABA MVP who has had his number 34 retired by Indianapolis. Both could have undoubtedly been in the top-5 in the history of the organization, but the fact that their careers are limited exclusively to the ABA makes the comparison of merits with other players very complicated. In a similar but not identical situation is Billy Knight, who would play with the team both in its last seasons in the tricolor ball league and in the NBA. In the first of the competitions he would average 28,1 points and 10,1 rebounds in the 1975-76 season.
Jumping to 80, we lead the way with Herb Williams, who would spend up to eight years in the franchise to play up to 577 games to average 15 points and 7,8 rebounds. At that stage he would be accompanied by other guys like Chuck Person, Rookie of the Year in 1987; Clark Kellogg, a fantastic power forward who would be retired by chronic knee problems when he had only been in his career for five years; and Vern Fleming, second highest assists in the history of the organization with 4.038 basket passes.
Going into the next decade we have players like Detlef Schrempf, who with the Pacers would be Best Sixth Man in 1991 and 1993; Dale Davis, who was on the team between 1991 and 2000 to currently be the franchise's best all-time rebounder with 6.006 catches under the hoops and accompany Reggie Miller in the only NBA Finals in its history, same situation in the that others like Jalen Rose or Mark Jackson were there.
Already in the 2004st century, Jeff Foster must have his place on this list, one of those players who make a team and who provides chemistry and work ethic to a team; Ron Artest, who as a member of the Pacers would be named Best Defenseman in 2004 – we don't know how far he and the team would have gone without that fight in November XNUMX; and Jamal Tinsley, point guard of that team.
To close the tour of Indiana we cannot leave out Danny Granger, a fantastic scorer who was affected early by injuries; or Roy Hibbert, who during the 2013 conference finals would average 22,1 points and 10 rebounds. We close ranks with the present, with Victor Oladipo, a boy trained at the University of Indiana who has become an All-Star just after his arrival to the Pacers and who is currently the team's great star.
While the crisis lasts coronavirus We will publish various current independent content daily. We will delve into the history of the NBA, both recent and all previous decades. We will take advantage of this break in the competition to get to know the teams, the players, the coaches, the managers, the eye-catching matches, the pavilions and the historic teams for one reason or another. We will do it here and in Extra nbamaniacs, a place where we will continue publishing special content free of advertising so that readers can continue supporting us directly.
We will carry out this entire editorial plan to entertain ourselves and better spend these weeks of confinement that almost all of us have left. Health!
Previous equipment analyzed: Chicago Bulls. Next team: Cleveland Cavaliers.
(Photograph of Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)