Indiana Pacers Team Profile

The Indiana Pacers are a National Basketball Association team based in Indianapolis , Indiana . The Pacers began play in 1967 as an ABA team. The franchise is one of eight teams in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Pacers play in Conseco Fiedhouse in Indianapolis , Indiana , and the team wear jerseys of blue, gold and white. Indiana has always been a basketball loving state, however the first three teams to play basketball there at National level failed to move along. The first three basketball teams to play for Indiana were Indianapolis Olympians, Indianapolis Jets and Fort Wayne Pistons. The Olympians did not last for long, the Jets spent only one year compiling a 18-42 record before folding and the Pistons moved to Detroit and are now the current Detroit Pistons. The Pacers won three championships in ABA League between 1970 and 1973. After the Pacers joined the NBA in 1976, they performed poorly for more than a decade. However, in the mid-1990s, teams led by guard Reggie Miller reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 1994, 1995, and 1998. In 2000 the Pacers reached the NBA Finals fro the first time.

The Pacers has won five conference titles in the ABA and one from NBA, also three Division titles from ABA and four Division titles from NBA. In the 2003 offseason, the Pacers managed to re-sign O'Neal for the NBA maximum and signed Reggie MilIndiana Pacersler to a modest two-year deal. The Pacers also signed Larry Bird as team president, and bird dismissed Coach Isiah Thomas and replaced him with Rick Carlisle. With coach Carlisle the Pacers had a breakthrough 2003-04 season in which they finished 61-21, earning the best record in the NBA. O'Neal and Artest made the All-Star team, and Artest was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year. Future Hall of Famer Reggie Miller retired on May 19, 2005 without any NBA Championships in his eighteen year career, all with the Pacers. Miller will have his jersey retired by the Pacers on March 30, 2006 . In his final game, he scored 27 points and received a huge standing ovation from the crowd. The Pacers made a major move for the 2005-06 seasons by signing Sarunas Jasikevicius, the floor leader of two time defending Euroleague champions Maccabi Tel Aviv. Ron Artest was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojakovic on February 2006.

Indiana Pacers Team Roster

NO.	PLAYER	POS.	HT.	WT.	BORN	COLLEGE	'07 SALARY
24	>Darrell Armstrong	PG	6-1	180	06/22/68	Fayetteville State	$1,178,348
0	Stanko Barac	C	7-1	240	08/08/86
6	Marquis Daniels	GF	6-6	200	01/07/81	Auburn	$5,883,600
34	Travis Diener	G	6-1	175	03/01/82	Marquette	$664,209
1	Ike Diogu	FC	6-8	255	09/11/83	Arizona State	$2,137,200
17	Mike Dunleavy	GF	6-9	230	09/15/80	Duke	$7,438,016
10	Jeff Foster	FC	6-11	250	01/16/77	Texas State	$5,500,000
24	Stephen Graham	G	6-6	215	06/11/82	Oklahoma State	$664,209
33	Danny Granger	F	6-9	228	04/20/83	New Mexico	$1,417,800
13	David Harrison	C	7-0	280	08/15/82	Colorado	$960,840
3	Troy Murphy	FC	6-11	245	05/02/80	Notre Dame	$8,285,714
7	Jermaine O'Neal	FC	6-11	260	10/13/78		$18,084,000
20	Andre Owens	G	6-4	200	10/31/80	Houston
9	Kareem Rush	SG	6-6	215	10/30/80	Missouri	$744,551
11	Jamaal Tinsley	PG	6-3	185	02/28/78	Iowa State	$5,850,000
4	Shawne Williams	F	6-9	225	02/16/86	Memphis	$1,367,760