The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers play in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team began playing in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), and joined the NBA as part of the ABA–NBA merger. The team has played their home games at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse since the 1999–2000 NBA season. The Pacers are owned by Herbert and Melvin Simon, and David Morway is their general manager. [1] Nate Bjorkgren was the team's head coach in 2020–21 and was fired after one season. Rick Carlisle was hired to replaced Bjorkgren, becoming the coach of the Pacers for the second time.
There have been 14 head coaches for the Pacers franchise. The franchise's first head coach was Larry Staverman, who coached for two seasons. [2] Bobby Leonard is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (985), the most regular-season game wins (529), the most playoff games coached (116), and the most playoff game wins (69). [3] Leonard is also the only coach to win an ABA championship with the Pacers, with 3 (1970, 1972, 1973). [4] Larry Bird, who coached three seasons with the Pacers, is the Pacers' all-time leader for the highest winning percentage with .687. [5] Bird is also the only coach to win an NBA Eastern Conference championship with the Pacers, but lost the 2000 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. [6] Mel Daniels is the only Pacers coach to have coached less than one season. [7] Jack Ramsay, Larry Brown, and Bobby Leonard are the only Pacers' coaches to be elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. [8] [9] Ramsay was also named one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history. [10] Jack McKinney and Larry Bird have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award, in 1980–81 and 1997–98, respectively, with the Pacers. [11] Dick Versace and Bird have spent their entire NBA coaching careers with the Pacers. [5] [12] Frank Vogel was named interim head coach after Jim O'Brien was fired midway through the 2010–11 season. [13]
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins |
L | Losses |
Win% | Winning percentage |
# | Number of coaches [a] |
* | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Pacers |
† | Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2022–23 season.
# | Name | Term [b] | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Achievements | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
1 | Larry Staverman | 1967–1968 | 87 | 40 | 47 | .460 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | [2] | |
2 | Bobby Leonard † | 1968–1980 | 985 | 529 | 456 | .537 | 116 | 69 | 47 | .595 | 3 ABA championships (1970, 1972, 1973) [4] | [3] |
3 | Jack McKinney | 1980–1984 | 328 | 125 | 203 | .381 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 1980–81 NBA Coach of the Year [11] | [14] |
4 | George Irvine | 1984–1986 | 164 | 48 | 116 | .293 | — | — | — | — | [15] | |
5 | Jack Ramsay † | 1986–1988 | 171 | 79 | 92 | .462 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [10] | [8] |
6 | Mel Daniels | 1988 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | [7] | |
— | George Irvine | 1988–1989 | 20 | 6 | 14 | .300 | — | — | — | — | [15] | |
7 | Dick Versace * | 1989–1990 | 160 | 73 | 87 | .456 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | [12] | |
8 | Bob Hill | 1990–1993 | 221 | 113 | 108 | .511 | 12 | 3 | 9 | .250 | [16] | |
9 | Larry Brown † | 1993–1997 | 328 | 190 | 138 | .579 | 38 | 22 | 16 | .579 | [9] | |
10 | Larry Bird * | 1997–2000 | 214 | 147 | 67 | .687 | 52 | 32 | 20 | .615 | 1997–98 NBA Coach of the Year [11] | [5] |
11 | Isiah Thomas | 2000–2003 | 246 | 131 | 115 | .533 | 15 | 5 | 10 | .333 | [17] | |
12 | Rick Carlisle | 2003–2007 | 328 | 181 | 147 | .552 | 35 | 18 | 17 | .514 | [18] | |
13 | Jim O'Brien | 2007–2011 | 290 | 121 | 169 | .417 | — | — | — | — | [19] | |
14 | Frank Vogel | 2011–2016 | 431 | 250 | 181 | .580 | 59 | 30 | 29 | .508 | [20] | |
15 | Nate McMillan | 2016–2020 | 319 | 183 | 136 | .574 | 19 | 3 | 16 | .158 | [21] | |
16 | Nate Bjorkgren * | 2020–2021 | 72 | 34 | 38 | .472 | — | — | — | — | [22] | |
— | Rick Carlisle | 2021–present | 164 | 60 | 104 | .366 | – | [18] |
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 1978 NBA draft was the 32nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1978, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York, before the 1978–79 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Indiana Pacers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Kansas City Kings, who obtained the New Jersey Nets' first-round pick in a trade, were awarded the second pick. The Pacers then traded the first pick to the Portland Trail Blazers before the draft. 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. 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. Before the draft, five college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule. These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league, which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier. Prior to the start of the season, the Buffalo Braves relocated to San Diego and became the San Diego Clippers. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 202 players.
Lawrence Joseph Staverman was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6' 7" forward from Villa Madonna College, Staverman was drafted in the 9th round of the 1958 NBA draft by the Cincinnati Royals. He had a five-year career as a player in the NBA, with the Royals, the Chicago Zephyrs/Baltimore Bullets, and the Detroit Pistons.
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 1963 NBA draft was the 17th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 30 and May 7, 1963, before the 1963–64 season. In this draft, nine 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. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a 50-mile radius of its home arena as their territorial pick. The Chicago Zephyrs relocated to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Bullets prior to the draft. The Syracuse Nationals participated in the draft, but relocated to Philadelphia and became the Philadelphia 76ers prior to the start of the season. The draft consisted of 15 rounds comprising 84 players selected.
This draft holds the record for the fewest non-territorial picks who later debuted in the NBA, with 17.