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Record
Wins: 56
Losses: 26 Win PCT: 0.683 Playoffs: Lost Finals (4-2) to Los Angeles Lakers |
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Stat Leaders
Points: Jalen Rose (18.21 PPG)
Assists: Mark Jackson (8.02 APG) Rebounds: Dale Davis (9.85 RPG) |
The Indiana Pacers have had quite a few elite teams over the decades, but they’ve never hoisted the elusive Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Three contenders that qualify as the best Pacers team of all time are the following: the 1999-2000 roster coached by Larry Bird and led by Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, the 2003-04 squad that went a franchise-record 61-21 thanks to Jermaine O’Neal and the artist formerly known as Ron Artest, and, most recently, the 2013-14 defensive juggernaut with Paul George, Roy Hibbert and David West, coached by Frank Vogel.
Of the three, only one team made it to the NBA Finals: the 1999-2000 group. The starting five of Mark Jackson, Miller, Jalen Rose, Dale Davis and Rik Smits led Indy to the league’s top offensive rating that year (108.5). This Pacers team gritted through playoff series wins against the Bucks, 76ers and Knicks, but Miller and Co. eventually fell in six games to the Lakers’ dominant duo of Shaq and Kobe in the final showdown.
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