Post by nutsberryfarm 🏜 on Jul 13, 2021 23:24:05 GMT
www.indystar.com/story/sports/nba/pacers/2021/07/09/pacers-top-10-shooting-guards-reggie-miller-dudley-bradley/7809092002/
Reggie Miller
He made his name against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in the mid-90s: scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals, the famous eight points in 8.9 seconds in Game 1 of the 1995 conference semifinals, and the 34 points -- 17 in the fourth quarter -- to clinch the franchise's lone NBA Finals appearance in 2000.
"He knew it was a big stage, he flat-out knew it," Pacers executive Donnie Walsh told IndyStar prior to Miller's induction into the Hall of Fame in 2012. "Unlike a lot of players, Reggie was looking for that big stage. He wanted it. It was Madison Square Garden and nationally televised games."
Miller joined a team that had made the playoffs twice in 13 seasons – losing in the first round both times – and was the centerpiece of a franchise that made the playoffs in 14 of 15 seasons, including six Eastern Conference finals and the 2000 NBA finals. He played all 18 of his seasons in Indiana so he dominates the career leaders lists: games (1,389, Rik Smits is second at 867), points (25,279, Smits, 12,871), assists (4,140, Vern Fleming, 4,038) and steals (1,505, Fleming, 885).
Pacers top 10 small forwards: From Roger Brown to Mike Bantom
Pacers top 10 power forwards: From George McGinnis to Al Harrington
Pacers top 10 point guards: From Freddie Lewis to Darren Collison
Top 10 Pacers centers: From Mel Daniels to Brad Miller
The Pacers have been one of the NBA’s model franchises over the past three decades, and one of the first pieces put in place was Reggie Miller.
"When we took him in the draft, he was committed to making this franchise better," Walsh said. "I think he always wanted to be a player that only played on one franchise, no matter what happened, and do everything he could to help it win a championship.
"When you think Indiana Pacers, you think Reggie Miller, and that's how it should be."
Victor Oladipo
Really? Really. Oladipo's departure over the last two seasons was ugly as he often used the media to communicate with the team. His severe knee injury in 2019, of course, changed the course of his career and relationship with the Pacers. He also wasn't quite the same player in 2018-19 as he was in 2017-18 before the injury.
But don't forget 2017-18. The Paul George trade was a bitter, disappointing pill but Oladipo's play and personality made it bearable. He made the All-Star team, averaging 23.1 points on 47.7% shooting (37.1% on 3s), 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and an NBA-best 2.4 steals (putting him on the All-Defensive team), and battled LeBron James in an epic first-round playoff series.
Injuries curtailed his effectiveness after that but Oladipo averaged 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 139 games over four seasons. And Kevin Pritchard was able to turn the disgruntled, injured Oladipo into Caris LeVert. In the end, the Pacers got more out of Oladipo than anyone expected at the time of the George trade.
Lance Stephenson
A funny thing happens when a superstar plays 18 seasons with one franchise: That position is not particular deep. So we end up with Stephenson as the third-best off-guard in Pacers franchise history.
Few Pacers have packed more into such a short period of time with the team. There was bad Lance:
>>He told the media that LeBron James showed a "sign of weakness" by talking trash back at Stephenson in the postseason.
>>He flashed a choke sign at James.
>>Stephenson blew in James' ear.
>>There was a physical altercation with teammate Evan Turner prior to a playoff series against Atlanta.
There was also good Lance:
>>After riding the bench (54 games total) his first two seasons, Stephenson stepped into the starting lineup when Danny Granger couldn’t bounce back from his knee injury in 2012-13 and was productive enough for the Pacers to make the Eastern Conference finals.
>>Stephenson then raised his game the following year, averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
He turned down a five-year, $44-million deal offer from the Pacers after the 2013-14 season in favor of a three-year, $27-million deal from Charlotte. It didn't work out. Stephenson averaging around 8.0 points on 43% shooting over three seasons. But he returned to the Pacers in 2017 and posted solid numbers: 9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals.
Byron Scott
The "veteran leadership" signing is one of sports most well-worn cliches but it's hard to argue with the value Scott brought to the Pacers. Scott signed with Indiana in 1993-94 after a long, successful run with the Los Angeles Lakers (15.1 ppg, 37.3% on 3s, 3 NBA titles). The Pacers had been bouncing around .500 for years but jumped to 47-35 then went 52-30, making the Eastern Conference finals both seasons.
"I believe that the Indiana Pacers are a young team and I'll make it into the NBA playoffs, an event I have not missed once in my 10-year career," Scott told the L.A. Times when he signed with Indiana. "I will do everything possible to help bring veteran leadership and championship pride to the Pacers. As of this moment I consider myself not only an employee of the Indiana Pacers but of every Indiana basketball fan."
Scott did more than provide veteran leadership, averaging 10.2 points on 46.1% shooting, including 38.3% on 3-pointers, in his two seasons in Indiana.
Ricky Sobers
Sobers was a promising player with Phoenix when the Pacers dealt Don Buse for him prior to the 1977-78 season. In two seasons with Indiana, Sobers averaged 17.8 points, 6.5 assists and 1.9 steals, though he also turned the ball over 4.1 times per game.
The Pacers signed Mickey Johnson, who averaged 15.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists and "led the National Basketball Association in pouting last season," according to a Chicago Tribune story, from the Bulls after the 1978-79 season and had to give up Sobers as compensation. According to the article, the Pacers surrendered Sobers out of fear the commissioner would assign Alex English and the team's 1980 first-round pick as compensation if the teams couldn't agree to terms.
Instead, the Pacers would watch English develop into a Hall of Famer in Denver after dealing him for the tail end of George McGinnis' career, and drafted Louis Orr, a serviceable reserve with the Pacers for two seasons, with that first-round pick. The Pacers didn't make many good decisions in the post-ABA days.
Sobers split his time between point guard and shooting guard with the Pacers but given the dearth of candidates, he slotted here. (Sobers likely would have been No. 10 on the point guard list.)
Stephen Jackson
Jackson was a significant contributor to some very talented Pacers teams -- he averaged 16.6 points in 169 games from 2004-07 -- but is almost as closely associated with the brawl in Detroit as Ron Artest. Jackson went into the stands and was suspended 30 games for fighting with Pistons fans.
"A lot of people really don't understand how it feels to be with a guy who you call your teammate and you're with more than your family during the course of a season," Jackson said in a Grantland.com story. "How do you expect me not to go help him?"
Jackson also fired a gun into the air at a strip club in 2006 when he saw teammate Jamaal Tinsley arguing with a man who Jackson thought was carrying a gun. The man's cousin would hit Jackson with his car. Jackson was suspended by five different teams, including the Pacers after a spat with coach Rick Carlisle.
Jackson would play 14 seasons in the NBA for eight different teams, often his raising his level of play in the postseason.
Donnie Freeman
Freeman was a key player for the 1972-73 ABA champs, averaging 14.3 points (fourth on the team), 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists on a roster that included George McGinnis, Mel Daniels, Freddie Lewis, Darnell Hillman, Roger Brown, Billy Kelly and Don Buse. Freeman posted nearly identical numbers the next season, averaging 14.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists, though an aging Pacers team didn't get to the title game that season.
John Long
A professional scorer. After averaging more than 15 points per game for nine seasons in Detroit, Long ended up with the Pacers in 1986-87 and pumped in 15.2 points, he dipped to 12.8 in 1987-88 then 7.3 coming off the bench in 1988-89 until he was waived as age caught up with the 32-year-old. Long averaged 12.6 points over 205 games in Indiana.
Butch Carter
A useful player in an era the franchise lacked them. Carter came off the bench to average 5.9 points in 1981-82 then earned regular starts the following two seasons, averaging 10.5 and 13.4 points, while shooting 48.9% with 2.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals. Oddly, Carter was more productive with the Pacers than he was at IU, where he averaged 6.6 points over 114 games in four seasons.
Dudley Bradley
Played in nine NBA seasons but his two best were with the Pacers his first two seasons in the league. He averaged 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and an impressive 2.4 steals in 1979-80 and '80-81 after the Pacers drafted him with the first-round draft pick acquired when Dan Roundfield (who would make three All-Star teams after leaving Indiana) signed with the Atlanta Hawks. Bradley was named to the All-Defensive team in 1980-81 but then deal for two second-round draft picks and began bouncing around the NBA.
Contact IndyStar Deputy Sports Editor Nat Newell a
Reggie Miller
He made his name against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in the mid-90s: scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals, the famous eight points in 8.9 seconds in Game 1 of the 1995 conference semifinals, and the 34 points -- 17 in the fourth quarter -- to clinch the franchise's lone NBA Finals appearance in 2000.
"He knew it was a big stage, he flat-out knew it," Pacers executive Donnie Walsh told IndyStar prior to Miller's induction into the Hall of Fame in 2012. "Unlike a lot of players, Reggie was looking for that big stage. He wanted it. It was Madison Square Garden and nationally televised games."
Miller joined a team that had made the playoffs twice in 13 seasons – losing in the first round both times – and was the centerpiece of a franchise that made the playoffs in 14 of 15 seasons, including six Eastern Conference finals and the 2000 NBA finals. He played all 18 of his seasons in Indiana so he dominates the career leaders lists: games (1,389, Rik Smits is second at 867), points (25,279, Smits, 12,871), assists (4,140, Vern Fleming, 4,038) and steals (1,505, Fleming, 885).
Pacers top 10 small forwards: From Roger Brown to Mike Bantom
Pacers top 10 power forwards: From George McGinnis to Al Harrington
Pacers top 10 point guards: From Freddie Lewis to Darren Collison
Top 10 Pacers centers: From Mel Daniels to Brad Miller
The Pacers have been one of the NBA’s model franchises over the past three decades, and one of the first pieces put in place was Reggie Miller.
"When we took him in the draft, he was committed to making this franchise better," Walsh said. "I think he always wanted to be a player that only played on one franchise, no matter what happened, and do everything he could to help it win a championship.
"When you think Indiana Pacers, you think Reggie Miller, and that's how it should be."
Victor Oladipo
Really? Really. Oladipo's departure over the last two seasons was ugly as he often used the media to communicate with the team. His severe knee injury in 2019, of course, changed the course of his career and relationship with the Pacers. He also wasn't quite the same player in 2018-19 as he was in 2017-18 before the injury.
But don't forget 2017-18. The Paul George trade was a bitter, disappointing pill but Oladipo's play and personality made it bearable. He made the All-Star team, averaging 23.1 points on 47.7% shooting (37.1% on 3s), 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and an NBA-best 2.4 steals (putting him on the All-Defensive team), and battled LeBron James in an epic first-round playoff series.
Injuries curtailed his effectiveness after that but Oladipo averaged 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 139 games over four seasons. And Kevin Pritchard was able to turn the disgruntled, injured Oladipo into Caris LeVert. In the end, the Pacers got more out of Oladipo than anyone expected at the time of the George trade.
Lance Stephenson
A funny thing happens when a superstar plays 18 seasons with one franchise: That position is not particular deep. So we end up with Stephenson as the third-best off-guard in Pacers franchise history.
Few Pacers have packed more into such a short period of time with the team. There was bad Lance:
>>He told the media that LeBron James showed a "sign of weakness" by talking trash back at Stephenson in the postseason.
>>He flashed a choke sign at James.
>>Stephenson blew in James' ear.
>>There was a physical altercation with teammate Evan Turner prior to a playoff series against Atlanta.
There was also good Lance:
>>After riding the bench (54 games total) his first two seasons, Stephenson stepped into the starting lineup when Danny Granger couldn’t bounce back from his knee injury in 2012-13 and was productive enough for the Pacers to make the Eastern Conference finals.
>>Stephenson then raised his game the following year, averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
He turned down a five-year, $44-million deal offer from the Pacers after the 2013-14 season in favor of a three-year, $27-million deal from Charlotte. It didn't work out. Stephenson averaging around 8.0 points on 43% shooting over three seasons. But he returned to the Pacers in 2017 and posted solid numbers: 9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals.
Byron Scott
The "veteran leadership" signing is one of sports most well-worn cliches but it's hard to argue with the value Scott brought to the Pacers. Scott signed with Indiana in 1993-94 after a long, successful run with the Los Angeles Lakers (15.1 ppg, 37.3% on 3s, 3 NBA titles). The Pacers had been bouncing around .500 for years but jumped to 47-35 then went 52-30, making the Eastern Conference finals both seasons.
"I believe that the Indiana Pacers are a young team and I'll make it into the NBA playoffs, an event I have not missed once in my 10-year career," Scott told the L.A. Times when he signed with Indiana. "I will do everything possible to help bring veteran leadership and championship pride to the Pacers. As of this moment I consider myself not only an employee of the Indiana Pacers but of every Indiana basketball fan."
Scott did more than provide veteran leadership, averaging 10.2 points on 46.1% shooting, including 38.3% on 3-pointers, in his two seasons in Indiana.
Ricky Sobers
Sobers was a promising player with Phoenix when the Pacers dealt Don Buse for him prior to the 1977-78 season. In two seasons with Indiana, Sobers averaged 17.8 points, 6.5 assists and 1.9 steals, though he also turned the ball over 4.1 times per game.
The Pacers signed Mickey Johnson, who averaged 15.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists and "led the National Basketball Association in pouting last season," according to a Chicago Tribune story, from the Bulls after the 1978-79 season and had to give up Sobers as compensation. According to the article, the Pacers surrendered Sobers out of fear the commissioner would assign Alex English and the team's 1980 first-round pick as compensation if the teams couldn't agree to terms.
Instead, the Pacers would watch English develop into a Hall of Famer in Denver after dealing him for the tail end of George McGinnis' career, and drafted Louis Orr, a serviceable reserve with the Pacers for two seasons, with that first-round pick. The Pacers didn't make many good decisions in the post-ABA days.
Sobers split his time between point guard and shooting guard with the Pacers but given the dearth of candidates, he slotted here. (Sobers likely would have been No. 10 on the point guard list.)
Stephen Jackson
Jackson was a significant contributor to some very talented Pacers teams -- he averaged 16.6 points in 169 games from 2004-07 -- but is almost as closely associated with the brawl in Detroit as Ron Artest. Jackson went into the stands and was suspended 30 games for fighting with Pistons fans.
"A lot of people really don't understand how it feels to be with a guy who you call your teammate and you're with more than your family during the course of a season," Jackson said in a Grantland.com story. "How do you expect me not to go help him?"
Jackson also fired a gun into the air at a strip club in 2006 when he saw teammate Jamaal Tinsley arguing with a man who Jackson thought was carrying a gun. The man's cousin would hit Jackson with his car. Jackson was suspended by five different teams, including the Pacers after a spat with coach Rick Carlisle.
Jackson would play 14 seasons in the NBA for eight different teams, often his raising his level of play in the postseason.
Donnie Freeman
Freeman was a key player for the 1972-73 ABA champs, averaging 14.3 points (fourth on the team), 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists on a roster that included George McGinnis, Mel Daniels, Freddie Lewis, Darnell Hillman, Roger Brown, Billy Kelly and Don Buse. Freeman posted nearly identical numbers the next season, averaging 14.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists, though an aging Pacers team didn't get to the title game that season.
John Long
A professional scorer. After averaging more than 15 points per game for nine seasons in Detroit, Long ended up with the Pacers in 1986-87 and pumped in 15.2 points, he dipped to 12.8 in 1987-88 then 7.3 coming off the bench in 1988-89 until he was waived as age caught up with the 32-year-old. Long averaged 12.6 points over 205 games in Indiana.
Butch Carter
A useful player in an era the franchise lacked them. Carter came off the bench to average 5.9 points in 1981-82 then earned regular starts the following two seasons, averaging 10.5 and 13.4 points, while shooting 48.9% with 2.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals. Oddly, Carter was more productive with the Pacers than he was at IU, where he averaged 6.6 points over 114 games in four seasons.
Dudley Bradley
Played in nine NBA seasons but his two best were with the Pacers his first two seasons in the league. He averaged 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and an impressive 2.4 steals in 1979-80 and '80-81 after the Pacers drafted him with the first-round draft pick acquired when Dan Roundfield (who would make three All-Star teams after leaving Indiana) signed with the Atlanta Hawks. Bradley was named to the All-Defensive team in 1980-81 but then deal for two second-round draft picks and began bouncing around the NBA.
Contact IndyStar Deputy Sports Editor Nat Newell a
