Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). more...

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They have the state's name rather than their city's because the team is based in the state's largest city, Indianapolis, Indiana which is also the capital and is located in the center of the state.

Home arenas

Pepsi Coliseum (1967-1974)

Market Square Arena (1974-1999)

Conseco Fieldhouse (1999-present)

Franchise history

The ABA Years: Dynasty

The Pacers began play in the inaugural 1967-68 season of the American Basketball Association, which was set up as an alternative league to the National Basketball Association. They played in the Coliseum, which stands on the Indiana State Fairgrounds. It is now called the Pepsi Coliseum.

The Pacers' ABA teams were coached by Bobby "Slick" Leonard, and buoyed by the great play of players such as Mel Daniels, George McGinnis and Roger Brown. The Pacers were the most successful team in the ABA's history, winning three ABA Championships in four years. In all, they appeared in the ABA Finals five times in the league's eight-year history.

Struggling Through the Early NBA Years

The ABA folded in 1976, and the Pacers were one of four ABA teams invited to join the NBA beginning in the 1976-1977 season (the other three were the New York Nets, Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs). Unfortunately for the Pacers, they were in decline after their years of ABA glory. They finished their inaugural NBA season with a record of 36-46, but Billy Knight and Don Buse were nonetheless invited to represent Indiana in the NBA All-Star Game.

Unfortunately for the Pacers, a lack of year-to-year continuity became the norm, as they traded away Knight and Buse before the 1977-1978 season even started. They acquired Adrian Dantley in exchange for Knight, but Dantley (who was averaging nearly 27 points per game at the time) was traded in December, while the Pacers' second-leading scorer, John Williamson, was dealt in January.

The Pacers made their first appearance in the NBA Playoffs in 1981, falling in the opening round to the Philadelphia 76ers in two straight games. They failed to reach the postseason in 1981-1982, and in 1982-1983 they finished with their all-time worst record of 20-62.

Clark Kellogg was drafted by the Pacers in 1983 and showed tremendous promise, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting, but the Pacers won only 26 games that season. After winning 22 games in 1984-85 and 26 games in 1985-86, Jack Ramsay replaced George Irvin as coach and led the Pacers to a 41-41 record in 1986-87, marking their return to the NBA Playoffs after a six-year absence. Chuck Person, nicknamed "The Rifleman" for his renowned long-range shooting, led the team in scoring as a rookie. Their first playoff win in NBA franchise history was earned in Game 3 of their first-round, best-of-five series against the Atlanta Hawks, but unfortunately for the Pacers, it was their only victory in that series, as the Hawks defeated them in four games.

Read more at Wikipedia.org