The Pacers Refused to Tank—and It’s Paying Off

Moments after sinking a basket to send Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals into overtime, Tyrese Haliburton held out the choke celebration. He mimicked Pacers legend Reggie Miller, who had done the same thing at Madison Square Garden in 1994. Miller was in the arena Wednesday, calling the game for TNT.

Haliburton and Miller are Pacers stars separated by about three decades—but Herb Simon has been the team’s owner through both eras. Simon purchased the Pacers in 1983, four years before the team selected Miller with the No. 11 pick.

Under Simon, Indiana has avoided tanking or bottoming out in the standings to get a high draft pick. The Pacers have won under 30 games just once since 1990—four seasons ago, the same year they traded for Haliburton midseason to become their new centerpiece.

The Pacers have not selected in the top five of any draft in the same time frame. They didn’t even have a pick in the single digits until they selected Bennedict Mathurin No. 6 in 2022.

But the team has found top-level talent later in drafts. Myles Turner was the No. 11 pick in 2015, while Andrew Nembhard was No. 31 in 2022. The Pacers team that made back-to-back conference finals appearances in the early 2010s was led by Paul George (No. 10 in 2010), Danny Granger (No. 17 in 2005), Lance Stephenson (No. 40 in 2010) and Roy Hibbert (No. 17 in 2008 by Raptors, traded to Indiana on draft night). 

Indiana is also not a free-agency destination, but it has made trades for players willing to sign long-term deals. Haliburton inked a five-year, $260 million extension in 2023, a year after the team traded Domantas Sabonis for him, while All-Star Pascal Siakam signed a four-year, $189.5 million deal in July, months after the Pacers acquired him from the Raptors.

Critics can point out how the strategy has not worked because the Pacers have still never won an NBA championship. (The franchise won three ABA championships in 1970, 1972, and 1973.) However, it is one of the most consistently successful franchises, making the playoffs 27 times since 1990—a 75% rate. It has reached the conference finals 10 times in that span (27.8% rate) and made the NBA Finals in 2000.

The strategy hasn’t always been smooth, as there were calls from some fans to bottom out in the late 2010s once the team moved on from George & Co. While it did tear the team apart eventually (following a brief era with Victor Oladipo and Sabonis), the Pacers didn’t bottom out in the way other franchises have in recent years.

Now, Indiana is just three wins away from winning the Eastern Conference.