Boomer is the official mascot of the Indiana Pacers, a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He appears at each of the Pacers' home games, at special events for the NBA, as well as at other community & sporting events in central Indiana.
Boomer was introduced before the start of the 1991 NBA season. Boomer is a 6ft (1.8m) tall energetic cat, sometimes called the "Pacers panther", who performs high flying dunks and dance moves in addition to firing up the crowd attending games. He wears a #00 Pacers jersey and is one of the more accomplished NBA mascots, being selected for several NBA All-Star Games.
Bowser was a former mascot, in canine form, who worked in tandem with Boomer. The duo was broken up when Bowser was retired during the 2009–2010 season, after 8 years in the business.
Mini-Boomer is a smaller, more youthful version of Boomer, presumably his "offspring", that performs with him at select games.
Pacers Power Pack are a group of young men who perform trampoline-assisted slam dunks with Boomer during the break before the fourth quarter of home games, as well as assisting him in firing up the crowd throughout the contests.
Hoosier hysteria is the state of excitement surrounding basketball in Indiana or, more specifically, the Indiana high school basketball tournament. The most famous example occurred in 1954, when Milan defeated Muncie Central to win the state title.
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded in 1967 as an original member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and became a member of the NBA in 1976 as a result of the ABA–NBA merger. They play their home games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The team is named after the state of Indiana's history with the Indianapolis 500's pace cars and with the harness racing industry.
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest small forwards in NBA history, Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA Team member and is widely viewed as one of the most acrobatic slam dunkers in NBA history, earning the nickname "the Human Highlight Film". In October 2021, he was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Wilkins is the leader in most years with the Hawks for 12 seasons, the most games played with 882 in Hawks franchise history, the most minutes played with 32,545 in Hawks franchise history, the most career points in Hawks franchise history with 23,292 points, and the most points per game with 26.4 in Hawks franchise history.
Anthony Jerome "Spud" Webb is an American former professional basketball player. A 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) point guard, Webb played college basketball at Midland College and at North Carolina State University. He then played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in a professional career that spanned from 1985 to 1998. Webb also played professional basketball in the United States Basketball League, in the Continental Basketball Association, and in Italy.
Gus (Honeycomb) Johnson Jr. was an American college and professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (NBA). A chiseled 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), 235-pound (107 kg) forward who occasionally played center, Johnson spent nine seasons with the Baltimore Bullets before he split his final campaign between the Phoenix Suns and ABA champions Indiana Pacers. He was a five-time NBA All-Star before chronic knee issues and dubious off-court habits took their tolls late in his career.
Rik Smits, nicknamed "the Dunking Dutchman" is a Dutch former professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 7-foot-4-inch (2.24 m) center was drafted by the Pacers out of Marist College with the second overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft. An NBA All-Star in 1998, Smits reached the NBA Finals in 2000.
Benny the Bull, commonly known as Benny, is the mascot of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Chicago Bulls, a role he has filled since 1969.
Clark Clifton Kellogg Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who is the lead college basketball analyst for CBS Sports. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers.
Darvin Ham Sr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the top assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders before playing nine seasons in the NBA from 1996 to 2005. He won an NBA championship playing with the Detroit Pistons in 2004. Ham also had a brief international experience in Spain and later in the Philippines, as well as in the NBA Development League in 2007 and 2008. As an assistant coach, he won a second championship in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight championship and sixth in the last eight years, beating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in the 1998 NBA Finals. It also marked the departure of Michael Jordan and the end of the dynasty for the Chicago Bulls.
William Quinn Buckner is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played collegiate basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers, and won a national championship in 1976. He was a captain of both the last undefeated NCAA Division I basketball champion and the 1976 Olympics gold medal team. Buckner was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 7th pick of the 1976 NBA draft. He had a ten-year NBA career for three teams. In 1984, he won an NBA title with the Celtics.
William Robert "Slick" Leonard was an American professional basketball player, coach and color commentator. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where he was a two-time All-American and a member of their national championship squad in 1953. After playing professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Leonard coached the Indiana Pacers to three American Basketball Association (ABA) championships. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2014.
The Indiana Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana that competes in the NBA G League. The Mad Ants are the affiliate team of the NBA's Indiana Pacers and, since 2023, they have played their home games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which they share with the Pacers.
The 1999–2000 NBA season was the Raptors' fifth season in the National Basketball Association. The Raptors received the fifth overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft from the Denver Nuggets, and selected high school basketball star Jonathan Bender, but soon traded him to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Antonio Davis, and signed free agents Muggsy Bogues, and three-point specialist Dell Curry.
The Knicks–Pacers rivalry is a basketball rivalry between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The rivalry started in 1977 and quickly became one of the most bitter in NBA history. They met in the playoffs 6 times from 1993 to 2000, fueling a rivalry epitomized by the enmity between Pacer Reggie Miller and prominent Knick fan Spike Lee. Miller likened it to the Hatfield–McCoy feud, and The New York Times said in 1998 that it was "as combustible as any in the league". There is a mutual level of respect for both teams consistently demonstrating effort, grit, and physicality during each encounter.
The Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represents Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Saint Joseph's competes as well as part of the Philadelphia Big 5. Their home court is the Hagan Arena. The team is coached by Billy Lange, who was hired on March 28, 2019, after Phil Martelli was fired as head coach on March 19, 2019, after 24 seasons.
The 2005 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game played on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 at the Joyce Center in South Bend, Indiana, home of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The game's rosters featured the best and most highly recruited high school boys graduating in 2005. The game was the 28th annual version of the McDonald's All-American Game first played in 1978.
The Bud Light Daredevils were an American acrobatic basketball show that performed during the halftime of college and NBA basketball games from 1983 to 1998. The show combined gymnastics, trampoline, acrobatics, and basketball. The team was started by University of Mississippi cheerleaders Ty Cobb, Sam Martin, Robert Kirby, Tyler Hubbard, John White, and Ty Cobb's younger brother Guy Cobb.
Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a sports analyst for ESPN. He has played for 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Oladipo played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where in the 2012–2013 season he was named the Sporting News Men's College Basketball Player of the Year, the Co-NABC Defensive Player of the Year, and a first-team All-American by the USBWA and Sporting News. That year, he was also named the winner of the Adolph Rupp Trophy, given annually to the top player in men's NCAA Division I basketball.
Obadiah Richard Toppin Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of National Basketball Association (NBA). A power forward, he played college basketball for the Dayton Flyers.
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