Much like any other NBA team, the Indiana Pacers have also had their fair share of dark times in their history. There have been some ups, but certainly a good number of down moments as well. Below we highlight five of the most heartbreaking moments in the history of the Indiana Pacers.
MJ a member of the Pacers?
This one is a it of a slow burn. However, it still deserves to be in our list here today because of this simple fact: Michael Jordan could have been a Pacer.
In 1981, the Pacers front office pulled the trigger on one of the worst trades in franchise history. They traded for 6-foot-10 big man Tom Owens from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a future first round pick.
Some three years later, the Blazers cashed in on the pick, which unfortunately for the Pacers, ended up being the second overall pick for the 1984 NBA Draft. Hakeem Olakuwon was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets, and contentiously, Portland took Sam Bowie at No. 2. The Chicago Bulls ended up with Jordan at third, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Had the Pacers held on to that pick, then they could have theoretically had the chance at drafting the legendary Michael Jordan.
Paul George Leg Injury
Coming into the 2014-15 season, the Pacers had some high hopes. They were coming from a disappointing defeat in the Eastern Conference Finals the previous season against the Miami Heat, but were looking to have another run at it. All these hopes came crashing to tje ground when Paul George, who was coming off back-to-back All-Star appearances, broke his leg in a gruesome injury.
George suffered the injury during a Team USA scrimmage game in preparation for the 2014 FIBA World Cup. That was one of the worst leg breaks we've seen in recent memory, and it ended up costing George virtually the entire season. At one point, the future of Indiana's.cornerstone superstar was clouded in doubt.
2000 NBA Finals
Throughout Indiana's franchise history, they've won the title three times. All three championships came during their early years, with the Pacers winning three titles in four years, between 1970 and 1973.
After that highly-successful era, the next time the Pacers were able to go as far as the NBA Finals was in 2000. Unfortunately for them, that series against the Los Angeles Lakers will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
For starters, the great Reggie Miller absolutely bombed in his Finals debut. The 6-foot-7 shooting guard went a miserable 1-of-16 from the field in that game, as he finished with seven points, two rebounds, four assists, and zero 3-pointers. The Lakers blew out the Pacers in that one, with the game finishing 104-87.
That pretty much set the tone for the series, and while the Pacers were able to win two games, they proved to be outmatched in what was their first Finals appearance in over two decades.
Malice at the Palace
The brawl between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons in November 19, 2004 still remains to be the most infamous brawl in NBA history.
This one had it all: players exchanging blows, players attacking fans, subsequent hefty fines, and dozens of game suspensions. Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, and Jermaine O'Neal were the three most prominent Pacers players involved, and they definitely suffered the consequences of their actions. This had an adverse effect on the Pacers team, and while they still finished top of the Eastern Conference at the end of the regular season, there's no denying that this disgraceful incident messed with their rhythm. Most importantly, the Pacers will forever go down in history as the other half of what is considered to be one of the most embarrassing sporting moments of all time.
2005 Playoffs Loss to the Detroit Pistons
A few months after the brawl in the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, these two teams would face off again in the playoffs. The Pistons themselves had an amazing season, finishing third in the East. This set up a matchup between Indiana and Detroit in the second round.
Ultimately, it was the Pistons that went on to win the series, 4-2 (they even went all the way to the Finals, only to be defeated by the San Antonio Spurs). However, what makes this series loss so heartbreaking is not only the fact that they were defeated by the team that they literally just squared off with a few months earlier, but also, this was the last game played by one Reggie Miller.
Miller is widely considered as the greatest player to ever dawn the Pacers uniform, so it was not easy for the Indiana faithful to bid him goodbye. The five-time All-Star spent all 18 seasons with Indiana before retiring in 2005 at the age of 39. His retirement was a long time coming, but still, it was gut-wrenching to finally see him in his final NBA game.
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