I’m not going to act like I remember all of the 53 seasons the Indiana Pacers have been in business, but I remember most.
The first sporting event I attended that required paid admission was a Pacers home game with my dad during the 1971-72 season. It was against the Denver Rockets, a team led by Dave Robisch, Art Becker and Byron Beck, and observing the flight of the old red, white and blue basketball was mesmerizing to a 9-year-old kid.
Whether this qualifies me to rattle off an all-time Pacers team is debatable, but with the current season one big blue-and-gold question mark, today — the day the 2020 playoffs were supposed to tip off — is as good a time as any to try. Narrowing more than a half-century of hoops to five players isn’t easy, but here goes.
(To maintain the air of nostalgia, I’m incorporating the old starting five method of two forwards, a center and two guards.)
Forward: Mel Daniels
The nicest man off the court, the 6-foot-9 Daniels possessed a handshake that had you checking the status of your fingers afterward. It was this strength that made Daniels, who passed away in 2015 at age 71, one of the fiercest interior presences of his generation and a three-time ABA champion. In his six seasons as a Pacer, he averaged 19 points and 16.4 rebounds.
Forward: Jermaine O’Neal
Unfortunately, one lasting image of O’Neal is him squaring up to fight an inebriated Detroit Pistons fan on the court during the Malice in the Palace in 2004. Truth is, the 6-11 South Carolina native was one heck of a talent, finishing third on the franchise’s career scoring list and fourth in rebounds in only eight seasons in Indy. O’Neal averaged a double-double three consecutive seasons (2001-04), his scoring norm never dipping below 19 a game during that stretch.
Center: Rik Smits
The first thing people asked when the 7-4 Dutchman was selected in the 1988 NBA draft out of Marist was: “Where’s Marist?” In time, Smits put his alma mater on the map by becoming one of the league’s prominent big men for most of his 12-year career. He’s second on Indiana’s career chart in games played, points, blocks and minutes played.
Guard: Reggie Miller
Holds most of the franchise’s career records after playing his entire 18-year career here. The skinny kid from UCLA that no one around here wanted during the 1987 draft evolved into a fearless long-range sniper who never backed away from the spotlight. Miller’s games against the New York Knicks alone might place him on this team, but he treated all opponents that way, at one point averaging 18 or more points for 12 straight seasons (1989-2001).
Guard: Roger Brown
Early in my newspaper career I worked with men many years older than me who covered the smooth 6-5 guard/forward in his career as a Pacer, which spanned eight seasons. The way they spoke of Brown in his prime when important games were on the line was like listening to kids today describe LeBron James, Zion Williamson, etc. In his third season, Brown averaged 23 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Former Pacers coach Slick Leonard made a habit at the end of close games of saying, “Get the ball to Roger and let’s go home.”
So there it is — my all-time Pacers team. Certainly there were others who were contenders to crack the lineup, but I’m confident we could win some games with this group.
Mike Beas is a sportswriter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
