Indiana Pacers Profile: Players, Net Worth, History, and Stats

The Indiana Pacers have been a competitive team throughout their stint within the league. They started slow in the league, but once they got even a single player who had the potential, they started making playoff appearances. Throughout their association with the NBA, they continued to thrive on stars like Reggie Miller and Paul George and coaches like Larry Bird from time to time. However, after a long period, they have risen as an NBA-efficient team again. Let's go through the journey of this franchise that has been proving itself from time to time through the continuous fight for a championship.

Indiana Pacers Profile

Indiana Pacers History

The Indiana Pacers were established in 1967 as an ABA franchise(American Basketball Association). The team was an immediate success in the league and made it to the Division Finals or Finals every time since their inception in the league. They even won three ABA Championships. Later on, they joined the 1976-77 season during the NBA-ABA merger. However, the $3.2 million entry fee at that time broke the back of the franchise, and it was only left with George McGinnis. They had to sell their players to cover the expenses of the team. This downfall continued till 1987, during which the Pacers made it to the playoffs two times.
The 1987 era kicked off with the drafting of Reggie Miller by the Pacers. and the improvement of the franchise began. Till 1994, the Pacers made it to the playoffs continuously. A turnaround took place in 1994 when Larry Brown was instilled as the new coach of the Indiana Pacers. Apart from the 1995-96 season, the team continuously made it to the Eastern Conference finals till the 2003-04 season. During this period, the Pacers even made it to the 2000 NBA Finals to ultimately face the Los Angeles Lakers, who ruined their hopes. After the 1997-98 season, Larry Bird was the new hope for the franchise as a coach because he immediately gave away the best season to the franchise.
During the 2000-01 season, the Pacers got Jermain O'Neal, who was later aided by the coaching experience of Rick Carlisle. In the upcoming year, Ron Artiste received the Defensive Player of the Year title. The Pacers drafted Danny Granger as the 17th overall pick in the 2005 Draft. Paul George also joined the squad as the 10th overall pick in the 2010 Draft. The team made it to the playoffs till 2017. In 2014, PG got a catastrophic open fracture to his right leg, and he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder squad in 2017.
Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis joined the Pacers through the PG13 trade and kept the franchise in the postseason. Last season, with the help of young talents like Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton, the team made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the champions Boston Celtics.

Indiana Pacers Stats

The Indiana Pacers are currently holding a 35-25 winning record in the 2024-25 season with a 58.3% winning percentage. Last season, the winning percentage was 57.3%, and that's why it is expected that the franchise might make it to the playoffs again. In the last decade, the Pacers had been consistently making the playoffs, but in 2024, they reached the playoffs for the first time. Here is a breakdown of the previous playoff appearances of the Indiana Pacers and their top performers according to the basketball reference data:

Indiana Pacers Famous Players

The Indiana Pacers did not give legendary players, but the franchise did deliver some Hall of Famers who earned their identity in the league. Here are those players who made a lasting impact on the franchise:

Rik Smits

Smits was an underdog who led the Pacers to the playoffs during the 1990s era. Rik Smits, known as "The Dunking Dutchman" and "Dutch Boy in the Paint," was a 7-foot-4 center who played in the NBA. He shot right-handed and weighed 250 pounds. Over his career, he played 867 games, averaging 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. He had a field goal percentage of 50.7%, a free throw percentage of 77.3%, and a player efficiency rating (PER) of 17.9. Smits was named an All-Star once and made the 1988-89 All-Rookie Team. His impact on the game is reflected in his 56.6 career win shares.

Jermaine O’Neal

The 6x NBA All-Star and 3x All-NBA selected Jermain O'Neal was a great contributor to the squad. He pushed the team for six consecutive postseason participation for better positioning in the NBA. However, he is more famous for the Malice at the Palace incident in which Ron Artest and Ben Wallace were involved in the whole of the stadium audience in the brawl, and many players from both teams were suspended for the rest of the season.

Paul George

After a rough start to the first decade of the 21st century for the Indiana Pacers, Paul George kept the franchise relevant. He made it to the four All-Star teams and three All-NBA teams as a Pacer. He was the only threat to the Miami Heat's Big Three players. Both Miami and the Pacers clashed three times in the playoffs during the PG era. Two of the occasions on which the teams met were during the Conference Finals. However, George could not keep the fight on his own in the league.

Reggie Miller

Miller was a Hall of Famer who had spent 18 years of his career with the Indiana Pacers only. He even led the team to the 2000 NBA Finals. Notably, he is the only player from the NBA franchise to have his jersey retired. Reggie Miller is the franchise leader in almost every shooting and scoring stat, along with assists. He also led the team in terms of three-pointers. He was so legendary that no other player in Indiana Pacers history had played even half of the 47,619 minutes Reggie Miller did.

Indiana Pacers Roster

In the last offseason, the Indiana Pacers locked a five-year, $244 million deal with star guard Tyrese Haliburton and signed Pascal Siakam to a four-year, $189 million contract. It made sure that the franchise stayed competitive in the NBA and made a run for another playoff in the upcoming seasons. Here is the roster arrangement of the Indiana Pacers for the 2024-25 season, according to ESPN archives:

Indiana Pacers Head Coach

Rick Carlisle presently holds the position of the head coach of the Indiana Pacers. His current stint with the NBA franchise started on August 21, 2021 as the 17th head coach of the team. The previous experience of Carlisle includes his coaching period with teams like Dallas Mavericks (2008-2021), Indiana Pacers (2003-2007), and Detroit Pistons (2001-2003). Before head coaching positions at the aforementioned franchises, Carlisle was working as an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers (1997-2000), Portland Trail Blazers (1994-1997), and Brooklyn Nets (1989-1994).

While coaching the Pistons, Rick won the Central Division Championships two times and ended the season with a 100-64 record. His contribution even earned him the 2002 NBA Coach of the Year award. His first experience with the Pistons was also successful because he held an 181-147 record. The Pacers even made it to three consecutive NBA Playoffs. It was the Dallas Mavericks stint that kept him in the light due to his 555-478 record. The Mavericks made it to the playoffs nine times and won their first NBA Championship in 2011.

Indiana Pacers Owner

Businessman and real estate developer Herbert Simon is the owner of the Indiana Pacers franchise in the NBA. He and his brother Melvin bought the franchise in 1983 to keep it on track and rooted in Indianapolis. It was a major step to keep the sports fanbase alive in Indiana. Later on, he persuaded the league to organize the 1985 NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis. Eventually, the attendance at that event was so massive that it could not be surpassed until 2010. Herbert and the Simon family have been driving forces behind Indianapolis' evolution as a global center for business, sports and entertainment, and arts and culture. That's why he was chosen as the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024 last year.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at this event about Simon, "As the longest-standing governor in NBA history, a founding member of the WNBA, and a former Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors, Herb Simon has been instrumental in every significant NBA and WNBA development over the past four decades. While Herb has never sought credit for his truly influential role, it is wonderful to see his steady leadership and service to the game of basketball recognized by the Hall of Fame."

Indiana Pacers Net Worth

According to Forbes data from October 2024, the estimated net worth of Indiana Pacers is $3.6 billion. The major part of the net worth of the NBA's income is the revenue that they gain as a franchise. It is about $320 million in figures. The net worth of the franchise includes the player expenses that the team makes, and it is expected to be $149 million.
Coming to the income of the franchise, it earns $53 million from only gate receipts. Meanwhile, the revenue that the franchise generates per fan is about $51.

Indiana Pacers Records

Under the leadership of Jermaine O'Neal and Isiah Thomas, the Indiana Pacers had the best run of their career and set the record for most wins in a season on the franchise level. They recorded 61 wins that season and only lost 21 games. We have enlisted the other set of records that the Indiana Pacers achieved during their historic run of 68 years within the league and before the league in ABA:

Indiana Pacers Stadium

The Indiana Pacers play their home games at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which was inaugurated in 1999 at the cost of $183 million. At first, the arena was named Conseco Fieldhouse after a financial services company. However, the name of the arena was changed in 2011 when CNO Financial bought Conseco, changing it to Bankers Life Fieldhouse. In 2021, the name of the Indiana Pacers stadium was changed again to its current name, Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The arena was built to replace the Market Square Arena. It's home to the Indiana Pacers and the WNBA team Indiana Fever. In terms of hosting capabilities, it can host concerts, college basketball games, and ice hockey. It has hosted events like Grammy-award-winning artists, NCAA basketball games, World Wrestling Entertainment shows, and Cirque du Soleil in the past. The capacity of this area is 17,274 for the basketball fans. During a concert, 18,600 fans attend the event, while for an ice hockey game, 11,651 attendees can enter the arena. The highlight of this facility is the brick and glass facade representing the classic basketball Fieldhouse.

Indiana Pacers Championships

Before shifting to the Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis, and under the new coaching guidance of Bob "Slick" Leonard, the Indiana Pacers were lethal on the court. Players like Mel Daniels, Freddie Lewis, George McGinnis, Bob Netolicky, Roger Brown, and Rick Mount are among the players who carried the Pacers to their respective championships. The team won 3 ABA Titles in 1970, 1972, and 1973. Since 1976, the Indiana Pacers merged with the NBA with the rest of the NBA team, and the Larry O'Brien trophy is still a dream for the NBA franchise.
The closest the Indiana Pacers have reached to the NBA Championship was during the 1999-00 season when the Pacers lost the Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers squad.