The Indiana Pacers have built themselves a nice young core over the past few years, adding the likes of Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, and Jarace Walker to their Tyrese Haliburton-led core. The Pacers have gone through their fair share of hard times, as seen in recent history, but they have always managed to bounce back thanks to their ability to develop homegrown talents that they acquired via the NBA Draft.
With that said, here are the 10 best draft picks the Pacers have made in their long history.
10. Antonio Davis
Like a few other players on this list, Antonio Davis was a crucial member of the Pacers team that almost made the NBA Finals during Michael Jordan's hiatus in the mid-1990s. But the value of Davis' selection comes from the fact that the Pacers took him with the 45th overall pick of the 1990 NBA Draft. A menacing rebounder and a tough enforcer, Davis gave the Pacers the edge they needed in their quest for a championship, something teams rarely receive from a second-rounder.
9. Vern Fleming
There's something in the water in Indianapolis that seemed to make their best players stay during the 1980s to 1990s. Vern Fleming is another shining example of how the Pacers have drafted some of the most loyal players in their franchise's history.
Fleming spent 11 years in Indianapolis, being there for the team when they made some noise in the playoffs during their heated battles against the New York Knicks. He was the floor general that helped bring out the best in Reggie Miller, and he unselfishly backed into more of a supporting role when the team relied more heavily on Mark Jackson.
8. Herb Williams
In the 1980s, the NBA was a big man's game. Being a perimeter-oriented team was almost taboo, so having a reliable big man was a must. And Herb Williams was just that for a Pacers team that was treading water during that era.
In 7.5 seasons with the Pacers, Williams averaged 15.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, before leaving the franchise on a high note via trade. The Pacers acquired Detlef Schrempf and the pick that became Antonio Davis from the Dallas Mavericks in the trade that sent Williams out of town, cashing in on the aging big man's value.
7. Chuck Person
Talk about immediate impact. When the Pacers selected Chuck Person with the fourth overall pick of the 1986 NBA Draft, they got one of the most NBA-ready prospects of his time. During his rookie campaign, Person averaged 19 and 8 — winning Rookie of the Year in the process.
Person, however, wouldn't ascend to a higher plane in the totem pole of stardom. He remained consistent as an 18 to 20 plus per game scorer, topping out as a high-level complementary scorer in the emergence of Reggie Miller in the main man role.
In six seasons with the Pacers, Chuck Person averaged 19.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, making his mark for the franchise before they traded him away for spare parts.
6. Myles Turner
It seems wrong to blurt out loud, but Myles Turner has, indeed, played eight seasons for the Pacers despite all the trade rumors he's been linked to for as long as anyone can remember these days. But the Pacers' selection of Turner in 2015 has been nothing but a smashing success.
Turner, since entering the NBA, has been one of the most imposing shot-blocking presences in the league. And to top it all off, he wasn't just a paint-bound big man. He was also capable of spacing the floor — a godsend for a Pacers team that was in a transition period during the mid to late 2010s.
Myles Turner has had to accommodate a ton of other teammates, oftentimes playing power forward and drifting out to the perimeter as he suited up alongside Domantas Sabonis. But during the 2022-23 season, Turner showed just how much he can flourish as the team's main man in the middle, putting up a career-best season at 26 years old.
Now armed with a contract extension, Turner figures to be a huge part of the Pacers core for years to come, filling his role as Tyrese Haliburton's partner in the screening game and blossoming as one of the more impactful two-way centers in the NBA.
5. Dale Davis
Dale Davis' career may not have been the most flashy, as he wasn't the most exciting player to watch. But what he did was contribute to winning basketball throughout his career. Davis made the most out of what he got, exerting 100 percent effort every single night for a Pacers team that needed someone to do the dirty work alongside the more finesse stylings of Reggie Miller and Rik Smits.
For nine years, that was Davis' job for the Pacers, doing his duty without any complaints as the team around him flourished. He even earned a trip to the All-Star game during the 1999-00 season, the campaign in which the Pacers made the NBA Finals, running into the buzzsaw that was the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dale Davis averaged 9.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 671 games for the Pacers, before netting them a future star in Jermaine O'Neal in what remains the best trade in franchise history.
4. Danny Granger
The Pacers are one of the rare teams in the NBA that made it a point to never tank. Such was the mandate from team owner Herb Simon, as he refused to bottom out in fear of alienating the loyal fanbase. But at the very least, the Pacers showed that they were capable of hitting on their picks that landed in the middle of the first round. One such hit was their selection of Danny Granger with the 17th overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft.
Granger was the complete package on the wing. The 6'8 forward out of New Mexico was a dynamic shot-creating presence, a legitimate three-level scorer who took on the burden of being the first option for a stagnating Pacers team in the late 2000s. His peak was stratospheric, as he averaged 25.8 points per game during the 2008-09 season — and he was only 25 years old then.
Alas, Danny Granger never quite recaptured the magic of that season, as his averages gradually fell in the subsequent seasons. As the team around him got better, Granger's statistics dropped off, as he settled into a more complementary role in what grew into an egalitarian offense. And in 2012, Granger's career completely changed for the worse. He suffered serious knee injuries that derailed his career and robbed the Pacers of a co-star alongside the ascending Paul George.
Granger was a shell of himself by the 2013-14 seasons, and the Pacers eventually traded him in the deal that brought back Evan Turner, a move that sent the locker room into disarray. The 6'8 wing's prime may not have lasted long, but at his best, he filled the seats of the Fieldhouse in Indianapolis — a marvelous return for the 17th pick.
3. Rik Smits
In these kinds of lists, it's always interesting to see what the writer prioritizes more between longevity and peak. Longevity for the franchise is always important, but it's star-caliber seasons that spur teams into contention. And in Smits' case, his prime was certainly much better than that of Dale Davis' and his longevity was better than that of Danny Granger's — giving him the nod over the two.
The Dunking Dutchman, despite having a frame that doesn't exactly bode well for one's longevity, played 12 high-caliber seasons for the Pacers, spanning two contending iterations of the team in the early and late 1990s. Smits was such a towering presence in the paint, a 7'4 monster of a man who had the soft touch to boot, maximizing his size advantage over most defenders.
Rik Smits, through 12 seasons, averaged 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, making him well worth the second overall pick the Pacers spent on him in 1988.
2. Paul George
When the Pacers drafted Paul George with the 10th overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, the 6'9 wing was a raw two-way forward, an athletic freak of nature who had an unpolished offensive game. He wasn't even a knockdown shooter from deep coming out of Fresno State. But George's athletic gifts made it easy for the Pacers to project a future of superstardom, although everyone knew as well that it would take some time.
As fate would have it, George landed in the ideal situation wherein he didn't face the pressure of having to figure it out from day one. George would slot in as a defensive specialist and a slashing lob threat who was perhaps the fifth option on offense whenever he was on the court. The presence of Danny Granger made it easy for George to transition to the pro level, and the presence of Granger also showed him how to make the most out of his athletic gifts.
But in a bittersweet moment, it took Granger being injured for Paul George to ascend to stardom. During the 2012-13 season, George emerged as a dynamite offensive weapon, a deadly pull-up threat who could detonate on any defender at any moment's notice. He won the Most Improved Player award during that year, and he led the Pacers deep into the playoffs as they went toe-to-toe with LeBron James' Miami Heat, pushing them to seven games.
Since then, George continued to improve, becoming one of the five best forwards in the league during his peak. But then his freak injury happened in 2014, and the Pacers' supporting cast around him deteriorated, putting a screeching halt to what had been a steep ascent for the talented forward.
And if there's anything Pacers fans will be thankful to Paul George for, it's that they did not leave the franchise high and dry. Instead, he asked for a trade and netted the Pacers Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo, two players who kept the team afloat to end the 2010s.
1. Reggie Miller
In an era dominated by big men, Reggie Miller came in as an explosive scoring guard who wasn't exactly the fastest, the strongest, and the most athletic. But Miller can put the ball through the hoop from distance unlike any other guard of his time. His shooting stroke was butter and his fluidity when letting it fly from wherever on the court made him such a joy to watch as he navigated screens and curls and put the fear of god in defenders' hearts every time he'll catch the ball on the perimeter.
After the Pacers drafted Miller with the 11th overall selection in 1987, he needed some time to settle down to the professional game, coming off the bench for all but one game during his rookie campaign. But in 1988, it was all systems go for Miller, breaking out as one of the most lethal scorers in the NBA. And it wasn't like Miller was just a shooter. He was more than just a marksman. Back in his early playing days, especially, he was also able to skate past defenders, leveraging the threat of his jumpshot to knife his way into the lane.
For a player whose game was heavily reliant on the perimeter shot, Reggie Miller was uber-efficient, a sign that he was smart with his shot-selection and was also capable of making difficult shots all the same. And he was a high-level floor-raiser, with the Pacers missing the playoffs just thrice in his 18-year career.
During that time, the Pacers had golden opportunities to win a championship, with the team making it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2000. In 2004, the Pacers had a chance as well, although Miller was on the receiving end of a chasedown block in the Eastern Conference Finals that snatched their title hopes. And then later on that year came the infamous Malice at the Palace, dooming Miller's last season to one of dismay and controversy.
Reggie Miller ended his career as the all-time leader in three-pointers made, although Ray Allen, Stephen Curry, and James Harden all passed him eventually. Miller also finished as the Pacers' all-time scoring leader, scoring 25,279 points in almost two decades of stay in Indianapolis. It will take a lot to dethrone Miller as the Pacers' GOAT, given his exceptional longevity and loyalty to the franchise.
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