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.
Artis Gilmore Sr. is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on August 12, 2011.
David O'Neil Thompson is an American former professional basketball player. He played with the Denver Nuggets of both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA. He was previously a star in college for North Carolina State, leading the Wolfpack to its first NCAA championship in 1974. Thompson is one of the ten players to score 70 or more points in an NBA game. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.
George F. McGinnis was an American professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, earning third-team All-American honors in 1971, before starting his pro career in the ABA with the Indiana Pacers. A three-time ABA All-Star with the Pacers, McGinnis was named the ABA Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1975 and won two ABA championships with the team. He was a three-time NBA All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was named to the ABA All-Time Team and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Melvin Joe Daniels was an American professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Minnesota Muskies, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sounds, and in the National Basketball Association for the New York Nets. Daniels was a two-time ABA Most Valuable Player, three-time ABA Champion and a seven-time ABA All-Star. Daniels was the All-time ABA rebounding leader, and in 1997 was named a unanimous selection to the ABA All-Time Team. Daniels was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Zelmo "Big Z" Beaty was an American basketball player. He played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and four in the rival American Basketball Association (ABA). A three-time ABA All-Star and two-time NBA All-Star, Beaty was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2016.
Ronald Bruce Boone is an American former professional basketball player. He had a 13-year career in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Boone set a record for most consecutive games played in professional basketball history with 1,041 and claims to have never missed a game from when he started playing basketball in the fourth grade until his retirement. Boone is the current color commentator on Utah Jazz broadcasts.
Roger William Brown was an American professional basketball player and councilman. A unanimous ABA All-Time Team selection, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Frederick L. Lewis is a retired American basketball player. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA). He is the only player to start his career in the NBA, and play all 9 full ABA seasons (1967-1976) until the NBA/ABA merger, then sign back with the NBA.
Robert Netolicky is a retired American basketball player. A 6'9" power forward/center, he played professionally in the now–defunct American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. Netolicky was a four–time ABA All–Star and two–time ABA Champion.
The 1967 NBA draft was the 21st annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 3 and 4, 1967 before the 1967–68 season. In this draft, 12 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each division, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Detroit Pistons won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Baltimore Bullets were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Five teams that had the best records in previous season were not awarded second round draft picks. Two expansion franchises, the Seattle SuperSonics and the San Diego Rockets, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the sixth and seventh pick in the first round, along with the last two picks of each subsequent round. The draft consisted of 20 rounds comprising 162 players selected.
Ronald D. Bonham was an American professional basketball player. He won two NBA championships with the Boston Celtics and a college national title at the University of Cincinnati.
Thomas Porter Thacker is an American former basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Cincinnati Royals and the Boston Celtics from 1963 to 1968, and from 1968 to 1971, for the American Basketball Association's Indiana Pacers. He is the only player to have played on an NCAA championship team, an ABA championship team, and an NBA championship team.
James Ronald McDaniels was an American professional basketball player. He played collegiately for Western Kentucky University and was the number one overall pick in the 1971 American Basketball Association Draft. McDaniels played as an ABA All-Star in 1972.
Lawrence T. Cannon was an American basketball player. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Cannon was selected in the first round of the 1969 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls with the fifth overall pick. Cannon was an American Basketball Association All-Star, who averaged 16.6 points per game in his ABA/NBA career after his All-American career at La Salle University. Cannon was forced to retire from basketball due to a chronic medical condition, phlebitis in his legs. Cannon died on May 29, 2024, at the age of 77.
Stephen Chubin, also known as "Chube" is an American former professional basketball player.
The ABA–NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered merger talks as early as 1970, but an antitrust suit filed by the head of the NBA players union, Robertson v. National Basketball Ass'n, blocked the merger until 1976.
John Russell Fairchild is a retired American basketball player.
Goga Bitadze is a Georgian professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) and 250 lbs, he plays the center position. He was drafted 18th overall by the Pacers in the 2019 NBA draft.
