Indiana Pacers Mount Rushmore
Who are the four most important people in Pacers’ history?
As a franchise, the Indiana Pacers have a bit of an odd history.
The franchise peaked during the ABA years, which time hasn’t treated too kindly to. They don’t lure big name free agents, they’re never bad enough to get elite talent through the draft, yet they’re almost always in the mix.
They’ve made the playoffs in all but six of the past 26 NBA seasons without great star power, forging the blue-collar reputation they’ve earned and proudly boast.
None of this is to say the Pacers haven’t had a helluva Mt. Rushmore to call their own.
When making this list, everything was taken into consideration. Everything. Individual accomplishments, team success, accolades, meaning to the city and team — all of it matters.
Who makes the cut?
Reggie Miller
Reggie Miller is the undisputed greatest Pacer of all time. When taking on the task of covering the four most important Pacers of all time, he was the only one locked into a spot. Just check the leaderboards.
Miller’s jersey hanging in the rafters of Bankers Life Fieldhouse isn’t enough. There should be a statue of Miller launching one of his trademark 3-pointers with his imperfect form that was so aesthetically pleasing.
Growing up in Indianapolis in the late 1990’s, Miller was a god. The importance of Miller on Indiana basketball cannot be overstated.
Certain players are just more watchable and fun to root for. Miller was almost the ultimate player to cheer for. Watching Miller work his mind games on opponents night after night made for must-see TV. One of my earliest memories was going to see Miller at Market Square Arena and leaving with ringing ears, much like going to your first rock concert.
It’s impossible to write about Miller without mentioning his rivalry with the New York Knicks, which was great enough to deserve a documentary. Really, the rivalry showcased Miller’s career in a nutshell.
Look at the crowds that filled Market Square Arena during that rivalry. Listen to how intense they were. Miller is basketball’s Da Vinci when it comes to baiting opponents and referees, and those Knicks series were his Mona Lisa or his Last Supper, or whatever Da Vinci’s greatest work was.
To top it all off, Miller spent 18 seasons with the Pacers and showed a love for the city that it hasn’t seen since.
Indiana loved Reggie, and Reggie loved Indiana back. It’s hard to imagine a player and a city having a better relationship throughout a career. For all that, he’s the greatest and most important Pacer in franchise history.
Bobby “Slick” Leonard
Putting a coach on any Mt. Rushmore is usually a bad decision. Personally, I abide by Bill Simmons’ belief that “there’s no concrete evidence that [coaches] make a genuine, consistent difference except for a small handful of gifted leaders.”
With that considered, it would be a shame to leave Leonard off the list of the four most important Pacers ever.
Leonard is the only coach to win a title with the Pacers, winning three ABA titles in 1970, 1972 and 1973. Much like Reggie Miller owns the all-time leaderboards, Leonard owns just as big of a lead among Pacers coaches.
Without Leonard’s ABA teams dominating the league, there’s a good chance the Pacers suffer the same fate as the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis as franchises that went down with the ABA.
To add to Leonard’s case on the Pacers’ Mt. Rushmore, he has been announcing Pacers games on television or radio since 1985, and is a legend in Indiana the way that Chick Hearn was in Los Angeles or that Tommy Heinsohn is in Boston. His trademark “Boom, baby!” call for Pacers’ 3-pointers became famous during Miller’s time as a Pacer and remain a fan-favorite to this day.
Reggie Miller is the face of the Pacers, but Slick Leonard is the voice.
Mel Daniels
The Pacers’ rich ABA history is mostly forgotten or unheard of, but there’s a reason basketball historian Terry Pluto deemed the Pacers as “the Celtics of the ABA.”
If the Pacers were the Celtics of the ABA, then Mel Daniels was their Bill Russell. Daniels was a walking double-double, averaging 19.4 points and 16 rebounds per game in six seasons as a Pacer.
Even more impressively, Daniels took home two ABA MVP’s as a Pacer, was a centerpiece of all three of the Pacers’ title teams, and was finally made a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
With MVP’s and championships to his name, Daniels has an argument that he’s the greatest Pacer of all-time. Spending only six seasons as a Pacer hurts his case, but his accomplishments are too gaudy to keep him off the franchise’s Mt. Rushmore.
Roger Brown
The last spot on the Pacers’ Mt. Rushmore goes to the franchise’s first player, Roger Brown.
Brown takes the last spot away from George McGinnis based on longevity and an overwhelming respect from his peers.
“The Pacers were the class of the league, and Roger was the class of the class.”
— Julius Erving.
“People say that I put the Indiana Pacers on the map,” Reggie Miller said. “No, it all started with Roger Brown.”
Brown was present for all three of the Pacers’ ABA titles, made four All-Star teams and was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 2013.
Honorable Mentions
George McGinnis
McGinnis was next on the list and has the best stats of any Pacer ever. In his first four seasons, Big George averaged 25.2 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. McGinnis starred for the last two title teams in franchise history and won ABA MVP in 1975 before making the jump to the ABA, ultimately finishing his career with the Pacers after the merger.
Jermaine O’Neal
J.O’s best years came with the Pacers, where he averaged 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in eight seasons in Indiana. O’Neal kept the Pacers afloat in the post-Reggie years, making six All-Star teams and even finishing third in the NBA MVP voting in 2003–04.
Paul George
George had a real opportunity to be a part of the Pacers’ Mt. Rushmore had he not wanted out of Indiana this offseason. Still, he’ll be known for being one of the most talented players in franchise history and the linchpin of the Pacers teams that challenged the LeBron James-led Miami Heat.
Rik Smits
The 7-foot-4 center from the Netherlands played a solid complement to Reggie Miller throughout his 12-year NBA career, all of which came with the Pacers. Smith made one All-Star team in 1997–98 and started for the 1999–2000 team that made the NBA Finals.
Danny Granger, Bob Netolicky, Billy Knight, Mel and Herb Simon, and Dale Davis also deserve honorable mention status for their contributions to the franchise.
