Barring a trade, the Indiana Pacers will have the 11th pick in tonight’s NBA draft. While it would always be nice to have a higher pick, the Pacers have gotten a lot of mileage out of players taken in the middle of the first round.
From 1994 through 2000, the Pacers went to five of the seven Eastern Conference Finals, reaching the NBA Finals in 2000. Those teams were led by Reggie Miller (11), Dale Davis (13), Mark Jackson (18), and Jalen Rose (13).
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When the Pacers set a franchise record of 61 wins and returned to the Conference Finals in 2004, that team featured MVP candidate Jermaine O’Neal (17) and Defensive Player of the Year Ron Artest (16)
David West (18) and Roy Hibbert (17) played prominent roles in blue and gold success over the past few year.