1967 ABA Founding
From ABA dynasty to NBA contender, the Pacers carry Indiana's racing heritage.
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded in 1967 as an original 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 Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The team is named after the state of Indiana's history with the Indianapolis 500's pace cars and with the harness racing industry.
Quick Facts
- First appears
- 1967–68 ABA season
Lore & Background
The Pacers have won three championships, in 1970, 1972, and 1973, all in the ABA. They also reached the ABA Finals in 1969 and 1975, and have appeared in the NBA Finals in 2000. The team has also won nine division titles. Five Hall of Fame players – Reggie Miller, Alex English, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown, and George McGinnis – played with the Pacers. Alex English played only one season (1979–80) with the team, while the others played multiple seasons. The franchise has multiple Hall of Fame coaches in Bobby 'Slick' Leonard and Larry Brown. Furthermore, former Pacers inducted into international Halls of Fame include Detlef Schrempf in the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Reader's Guide
In early 1967, a group of six investors (attorney Richard Tinkham, John DeVoe, Chuck DeVoe, entrepreneur Lyn Treece, 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, although they did play select playoff games in various places, such as Anderson High School Wigwam for four playoff games (1969, 1971, 1972) and even Assembly Hall for two playoff games (1972). In 1974, they moved to the new Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis, where they played for 25 years. Early in the Pacers' second season, former Indiana Hoosiers standout Bob 'Slick' Leonard became the team's head coach, replacing Larry Staverman. Leonard quickly turned the Pacers into a juggernaut. His teams were buoyed by the great play of superstars such as Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, Bob Netolicky, Rick Mount, Freddie Lewis and Roger Brown. The Pacers were the most successful team in ABA history, winning three ABA Championships in four years. In all, they appeared in the ABA Finals five times in the league's nine-year history, which was an ABA record.
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