Indiana Pacers Tickets

Staff Writer Russell Puntenney
Before merging with the National Basketball Association in 1976, the less popular but equally talented American Basketball Association was dominated by one team during its nine year existence: the Indiana Pacers. Though the team would not have much success after the merger, its impressive ABA run alone justifies all the expectations one might hold about a state that is as recognized for its love for basketball as anything else.

In those nine ABA seasons, the Pacers appeared in five of the championship series and won three of them, led by forward George McGinnis and a playground legend from Brooklyn named Roger Brown. Their first title came in 1970 after posting the league’s best record of 59-25, before going on to win back to back rings in ‘72 and ‘73. The last season of the ABA was the Pacer’s first losing one in seven years, but they were still one of the four surviving teams to join the NBA roster in 1976. That transition, however, was a costly one, with a $3.2 million entry fee charged to them, the burden of compensating the other ABA teams that collapsed, and the absence of any TV revenue for their first four years as an NBA team.

The NBA price tag was overwhelming for the team, but local businesses and generous fans made sure the Pacers were not relocated in 1977 after several group contributions were made and a telethon was filmed at the Indiana Convention Center. The team itself, however, underwent a number of personnel changes as the 1980’s approached, and the results were not very pleasing. The Pacers finished the 1982-83 season at 20-62, their worst record since joining the NBA, then ended the following season just two games better at 22-60. In 1987, however, the Pacers were finally on track toward becoming a legitimate contender in the league, making their second playoff appearance behind Rookie of the Year Chuck “The Rifleman” Person, and using their first draft pick that summer to take the incomparable Reggie Miller as the 11th overall pick.

Miller was the key player in the Pacer lineup from then on, taking the team to the NBA Finals in 2000 and making Eastern Conference Finals appearances five other times during his career. He was still an integral part of the team in 2005, when he retired with more career points than any other Pacer and with more regular season three-pointers than anyone in NBA history. He was part of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal, and continues to contribute to the NBA community as a broadcast analyst

His most memorable moment is a performance that ranks among the greatest in the history of the NBA. It occurred in Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals, when the New York Knicks led 105-99 with only 18.7 seconds left to play, leaving the entire crowd at Madison Square Garden, the infamous Spike Lee included, confident of a victory. Miller calmly hit a three pointer to cut the lead in half, then miraculously stole the ensuing inbound pass, rushed back to behind the arc and drained yet another three pointer, tying the game by scoring six points in a matter of just over three seconds. A couple missed Knick shot attempts later, Miller again had the ball in his hands, this time at the free throw line, where he sank the last two buckets to seal an impossible Pacers victory. The win came from Miller’s eight points scored in just 11 seconds, a virtually unsurpassable feat.

Even though the Pacers lost their only Finals appearance, which was suffered to the Los Angeles Lakers back when All-Stars Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant still got along, they have remained among the Eastern Conference’s best since the early 90’s. They made some very dramatic changes at the Head Coach position during this period, hiring such notable names as Larry Brown, former IU star Isiah Thomas, and Indiana native and NBA legend Larry Bird, who went on to become President of Basketball Operations for the club.

Unfortunately, the biggest event in recent Pacers history was an incident at the Palace of Auburn Hills, when a dispute over a foul between the Pacer’s Ron Artest and the Piston’s Ben Wallace turned very ugly on November 19, 2004. A fan directly hit Artest with a cup of beer after the short scuffle between the two players, and Artest ran into the stands to defend himself. The chaos that followed was arguably the worst brawl in the history of the sport, as other players took to the stands and irate fans stormed the court. The game was immediately ended, and the suspensions that resulted from it were the harshest in NBA history: Artest was out for the remainder of the season, and eight other players received suspensions ranging from one to 30 games.

Artest continued to distress the Pacers organization until traded to the Sacramento Kings in 2006, and so began the team’s rebuilding process.

That process will continue to take place at Conseco Fieldhouse, the Pacers’ luxurious home since 1999, which is widely considered one of the very top facilities in the league. For more information, visit www.pacers.com