About Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers were established in 1967 as members of ABA; within nine years of the time spent in ABA the franchise claimed three championship titles. In 1976 the team joined the NBA as a part of ABA-NBA merger and the franchise’s fortunes somewhat turned around as it took nearly 20 years for the team to win its first NBA divisional title and further five to reach the lone trip to NBA finals where the team was handed a defeat by the Lakers in 6 games.
The Pacers are member of Central Division in Eastern Conference which they have won six times in total, they also have a well-known divisional rivalry with the Bulls, where especially in the nineties the two teams had heated match ups featuring Bulls’ Jordan going against Pacers’ Miller. The team’s colours are yellow, blue, cool gray and white and their mascot is Boomer, 6ft tall cat who loves to perform dunks and dance moves.
The Pacers’ head coach is Frank Vogel who has been associated with the franchise since 2007 and became the head coach in 2011 in 2014 he was named the East Conference coach for NBA All-Star game.
Some of the team’s recent success finds its roots in 2010 draft where the Pacers selected Paul George in first round. The very talented small forward holds the franchise’s record in most three-point shots made in a single game with nine, surpassing Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, the high scoring player has been to two NBA All-Star games, and was also named NBA Most Improved Player of 2013. George is also known for his defensive skills leading the team in rebounds. It’s been acknowledged in the league by naming him to NBA All-Defensive First team in 2014, and a year earlier making it to All-Defensive second team.
He’s supported by center Ian Mahinmi who joined the franchise in 2012. Mahinmi has NBA championship ring which he claimed with the Mavericks in 2011 being one of the important contributors in clutch moments of the game. The team can rely on his good shooting percentage as well as contributing in rebounding and blocking aspects of the game.
The Franchise uses service of Monta Ellis to manage the game and distribute the ball to playmakers. NBA Most Improved player of the year 2007 joined the team in 2015 to further bolster the experience and leadership within the franchise.
