2018 Eastern Conference Finals vs Celtics (Black Eight)
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis.
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
- Series result
- Pacers win 4 games to 3
- Pacers seed
- 8th (Eastern Conference)
- Celtics seed
- 1st (Eastern Conference)
- Series mvp
- Victor Oladipo
- Clinching game location
- TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
- Season context
- Pacers recovered from a 1-7 start to the 2017-18 regular 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 also appeared in the NBA Finals in 2000 and 2025. The team has also won nine division titles.
Reader's Guide
The Pacers were one of four ABA teams that joined the NBA in the ABA–NBA merger in the 1976–77 season. They finished their inaugural NBA season with a record of 36–46. The Pacers missed the playoffs in 1987–88, drafted Rik Smits in the 1988 NBA draft, and suffered through a disastrous 1988–89 season. From 1989 to 1993, the Pacers would play at or near .500 and qualify for the playoffs. Larry Brown was brought aboard as Pacers' coach for the 1993–94 season, and the Pacers won their last eight games of the season to finish with an NBA-era franchise-high 47 wins. They stormed past the Orlando Magic in a first-round sweep to earn their first NBA playoff series win, and pulled off an upset by defeating the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the conference semifinals.
Did You Know?
- Six Hall of Fame players – Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, Alex English, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown, and George McGinnis – played with the Pacers for multiple seasons.
- The franchise has multiple Hall of Fame coaches in Bobby 'Slick' Leonard, Jack Ramsay, and Larry Brown.
- Former Pacers inducted into international Halls of Fame include Miller and Detlef Schrempf in the FIBA Hall of Fame.
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