- 1967
- 1970
- 1972
- 1973
- 1987
-
Pacers Team Formation
In early 1967, a group of six investors among them attorney Richard Tinkham, John DeVoe, Chuck DeVoe, sports agent Chuck Barnes and Indianapolis Star sports writer Bob Collins pooled their resources to purchase a franchise in the proposed American Basketball Association. For their first seven years, they played in the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum. In 1974, they moved to the ... -
ABA Finals Winner 1970
The 1970 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association’s 1969 – 1970 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Stars, four games to two in the ABA Finals. The Indiana Pacers finished the season with the league’s best regular-season record (59-25, .702) before going on ... -
ABA Finals Winner 1972
The 1972 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association’s 1971 – 1972 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Eastern Division champion New York Nets, four games to two in the 1972 ABA Finals. The Kentucky Colonels, despite finishing the season with the best record in the history of the ... -
ABA Finals Winner 1973
The 1973 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association’s 1972-1973 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels, four games to three in the ABA Finals. The teams with the three best records in the ABA that year failed to win the championship. The Carolina Cougars ... -
Reggie Miller Drafted
Reggie Miller was drafted by the Pacers in 1987, beginning his career as a backup to John Long. Many fans at the time disagreed with Miller’s selection over Indiana Hoosiers’ standout Steve Alford. The Pacers missed the playoffs in 1987 – 1988, drafted Rik Smits in the 1988 NBA draft, and suffered through a disastrous 1988 – 1989 season in ...
History of the Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first established in 1967 as a member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and became a member of the NBA in 1976 as a result of the ABA–NBA merger. They play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The team is named after Indiana’s history with the Indianapolis 500’s pace cars and with the harness racing industry.
Established
1967
City
Indianapolis
League History
1977 – Present / National Basketball Association
1967 – 1976 / American Basketball Association
Team History
1967 – Present / Indiana Pacers
Nickname
Pacers – When professional basketball came to Indianapolis in 1967, one of the key decisions would be what to call the new American Basketball Association franchise. According to Indianapolis attorney, Richard D. Tinkham, the nickname “Pacers” was decided on through a collective decision of the original investors. Tinkham, one of those investors, recalled that the nickname was a combination of the state’s rich history with the harness racing pacers (investor Chuck Barnes was a horse racing enthusiast) and the pace car used for the running of the Indianapolis 500.
Tinkham said the “Pacers” decision was an easy one, but the real debate was whether the team should be called the Indiana Pacers or the Indianapolis Pacers. Since one of the original ideas for the team was to have it playing throughout the state with its base in Indianapolis, the official team name became the Indiana Pacers.
Championship
NBA Championships 0
ABA Championships 3
1973, 1972, 1970
Arena
2012 – Present / Bankers Life Fieldhouse
1999 – 2011 / Conseco Fieldhouse
1974 – 1999 / Market Square Arena
1967 – 1974 / Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum
Owner
1983 – Present / Herbert Simon
1967 – 1983 / Richard Tinkham, John DeVoe, Chuck DeVoe, Chuck Barnes and Bob Collins
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
30 / George McGinnis
31 / Reggie Miller
34 / Mel Daniels
35 / Roger Brown
529 / Bobby Leonard
*Blue is this team’s history