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The Indiana Pacers were established in 1967 as a member of American Basketball Association (ABA) and in 1976 became a part of the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the pair merged into one.
With three championships to their name, all earned in the ABA, the team had struggled for over a decade to make themselves a household team among the NBA's top guns. However by the mid-90's, they had become one of the Eastern Conference's top franchises, reaching the Conference Finals on five occasions between 94-00', winning two Central Division titles and advancing to the NBA Finals in 2000.
The team has been a home to six Hall of Famers - Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, Alex English, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown and George McGinnis - who played with the Pacers for multiple seasons.
They currently stand in fourth place in the East this season, with a healthy 42-25 record. Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis is now home to players including injured All-Star Victor Oladipo, Myles Turner, Wesley Matthews, Darren Collison and other Pacers too. With all of that in mind, let's take a look at the top players to feature for the franchise since 2000:
#5 Roy Hibbert (2008-2015)
Roy Hibbert was drafted 17th overall in 2008 by the Toronto Raptors and was subsequently traded to the Indiana Pacers on draft night. With his arrival, the 7'2" center quickly became the franchise's defensive powerhouse - able to block shots ruthlessly while scoring on the offensive end too.
The new decade saw the prime of Hibbert's game. As the team was building themselves into a Conference champion contender, he surged to the top with two All-Star selections in 2012 and 2014. Named part of the All-Defensive team in 2014, he finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting too.
Fourth across the league in blocks in 12/13 and 13/14, he finished fifth in 11/12 as Indiana made successive runs to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and '14. In seven seasons with the Pacers, Hibbert averaged 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 25.9 minutes per game.
After moving from Indiana, he spent a year each with the Los Angeles Lakers (15/16) and Charlotte Hornets (16/17) before declaring his retirement in 2017 after the Denver Nuggets renounced their free agent exception rights in the off-season.
#4 Danny Granger (2005-2014)
Danny Granger landed in Indiana as a No. 17 draft pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He quickly emerged as a promising youngster after his rookie season, where he was selected to the All-Rookie second team that year. The franchise's leading scorer in four consecutive seasons (2008-12), he soon justified that promise.
In 08/09, he became the first Indiana player to average more than 25 points per game in more than 30 years. With a season average of 25.8 points, he was named the league's Most Improved Player - while playing his first and only All-Star game that same year.
His presence was a major force in driving the Pacers to successive Eastern Conference Finals in 13 and 14, though his decline gradually began after sustaining a knee injury in 2012. During his nine seasons with the Pacers, he averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal per game in 32.5 minutes.
He was then traded to Philadelphia in 2014 and again to the Los Angeles Clippers in the same season. The following year, he signed a multi-million dollar contract with the Miami Heat but was again dealt - this time to Phoenix and Detroit, who finally waived him prior to the following season, which signalled the end of his professional career.
#3 Jermaine O'Neal (2000-2008)
The 6'11'' forward-center Jermaine O'Neal declared himself draft-ready in 1996 and was taken by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 17th overall pick. After spending four years with the Trail Blazers, he was traded to the Pacers in 2000.
With a NBA Finals trip the previous year, departures of Mark Jackson, Rik Smits, Chris Mullin and coach Larry Bird stepping down, O'Neal came to the Pacers with a lot of pressure and scrutiny. However, it was the trust of Pacers veteran Reggie Miller and new coach Isiah Thomas that O'Neal worked harder and emerged as a key player.
The next season he won the NBA's Most Improved Player Award, was named an All-Star and earned a place in the All-NBA Third Team. He made five more trips to the All-Star games in coming years (2002-07), while finishing third in the MVP voting during the 03/04 season. In eight seasons in Indiana, O'Neal averaged 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 2 assists in 35 minutes per game.
Injuries became the reason for his decline in coming years and he was traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2008, the Miami Heat in 09' and finished that season fifth across the league in total blocks made.
As a free agent in 2010, he signed with the Boston Celtics and stayed there for two seasons, while playing with the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors for a year each. Despite receiving interest from several teams during the season, O'Neal remained sidelined out of action and hasn't officially retired from professional basketball - though at 40-years-old, chances of a return are increasingly slim.
#2 Paul George (2010-2017)
Paul George was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 10th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. He only started 19 of the 61 games he played during his rookie season, but left a lasting imprint with his offensive skillset and defensive agility. After completing his first year, he was named part of the All-Rookie Second Team.
The next season, George performed at the Slam Dunk Contest and Rising Stars Challenge during the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend. Success came during the following campaign, where he was chosen for his first All-Star appearance and named the league's Most Improved Player for the regular season, leading the Pacers to the Conference Finals where they eventually lost to the Miami Heat.
During the 2014 off-season with the USA Men's Basketball team, he suffered a compound fracture of both bones in his lower right leg. He came back stronger after a series of surgery and treatment, averaging 8.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in the final six games of that season.
He helped the Pacers reach the playoffs in the next two seasons and in seven years at Indiana, he averaged 18.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 3.2 assists. Traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017, he's currently part of the All-Star duo alongside Russell Westbrook and a leading frontrunner in the MVP rankings this season too.
#1 Reggie Miller (1987-2005)
Reggie Miller was drafted by the Indiana Pacers as an 11th overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. Miller featured as an All-Star five times, was a three-time All-NBA selection and won a gold medal with the 1996 Olympic team. He led the league in three-pointers made during the 92/93 and 96/97 seasons, while standing in second place on the all-time three-pointers made list behind Celtics' legend Ray Allen.
Miller became a sensation when he scored eight points in 8.9 seconds in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Knicks, leading the Pacers to a stunning 107-105 victory.
He played a key role in carrying the Pacers in six Conference Finals and the NBA Finals in 2000, leading the Pacers in scoring while averaging 24.3 points, 3.7 assists, 2.7 rebounds in 42 minutes per game in the six-game series defeat by the Los Angeles Lakers. After playing 18 seasons in Indiana, Miller averaged 18.2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.1 steals in 34.3 minutes. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
