The Indiana Pacers have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year, hearkening back to the Pacers teams in the mid-2010s that made it to two straight ECFs as well. Alas, those Pacers teams, led by current Philadelphia 76ers wing Paul George, ran into the buzzsaw that was the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh-led Miami Heat and couldn't advance to the NBA Finals.

Now heading into the 16th season of his NBA career, George is still on the hunt for his first championship ring. However, this goal of his feels further from him than ever, especially with the 76ers winning just 24 games last season amid the uncertainty of Joel Embiid's knee injury. Nevertheless, the 35-year-old veteran feels as though he could have won at least one championship with the Pacers already had it not been for James and the Heat.

“I'm thinking about it the other day, like, had there not been a LeBron James, s**t I might have had one,” George said in an appearance on the Pivot Podcast. “Had we not played LeBron James, or there was no LeBron James, we might have had one in Indiana. I felt like the guy in the East. We played Carmelo, got Carmelo out of there. Played a tough Wizards team with John Wall and Bradley Beal. Nobody could come through us.”

Paul George's Pacers were right on the cusp of winning it all

Related Indiana Pacers NewsArticle continues below
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates
Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton gets Caitlin Clark comparison from NBA legend
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts to a made basket
Tyrese Haliburton exchanges texts with LeBron James after Pacers win vs. Cavs
Indiana Pacers Lance Stephenson and Paul George look on dejectedly as the Toronto Raptors take a free throw during the second half at Air Canada Centre.
Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Perhaps Paul George has a point; if it weren't for LeBron James, the Pacers may have at least made it to the NBA Finals in 2013 and 2014. It's another question entirely if they would have defeated the San Antonio Spurs during those years, which was far from a guarantee considering how well-oiled that Spurs machine was.

George's Pacers simply could not get the job done, faltering in elimination games against the Heat in both 2013 and 2014 and not even putting up much of a fight. The Pacers were better in 2014 (George was as well), but they had plenty of in-fighting during that year. They may have righted the ship enough to make it back to the ECF, only to be humbled yet again by James' Heat.

This was simply the life of every would-be contending team in the East during the 2010s. There was simply no way anyone was getting past James, whether he was with the Heat or the Cleveland Cavaliers. That was simply the unfortunate reality that George faced when he was with the Pacers, having been eliminated by James' teams in the playoffs in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2017.