The Indiana Pacers joined the NBA for the 1976-1977 season as one of four former American Basketball Association franchises that crossed over when the two leagues merged. The three-time ABA champions struggled from the beginning. Once being accepted into the NBA, they posted only one winning season in their first 13 NBA seasons. After a decade and a half of failure, the team finally perked up and began to play .500 ball in the early 1990s. By mid-decade, the Pacers had become one of the Eastern Conference's top clubs. From 1994 through 2000, they reached the conference finals five times, won two Central Division titles and advanced to the NBA Finals in 2000 where they were defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers. When the Pacers (original members of the ABA) began play in the league's inaugural 1967-1968 season, they had already been preceded by two Indianapolis NBA teams. In 1948-1949 the Indianapolis Jets had compiled an 18-42 record in their only year of existence. The next year the Indianapolis Olympians began play, winning the NBA's Western Division with a 39-25 record. The Olympians folded in 1953 after four seasons.http://www.nba.com/pacers/history/franchise_history.html

The state of Indiana has long been a hotbed of basketball fandom. There is great support for high school teams and for the Indiana University Hoosiers, especially after their success in the 1970s and 1980s under Coach Bob Knight. Naturally, professional leagues coveted the Indiana market. So when eight businessmen invested a few thousand dollars apiece, the Indiana Pacers franchise began in 1967 as a charter member of the ABA.

Larry Bird, an Indiana State icon eventually took over the reins of the Pacers and is the current General Manager. He was a home grown boy who played for the great Boston Celtic teams, and was welcomed back to Indiana with open arms by the rabid hometown fans.

The naming of the Indiana team was actually pretty easy. In a direct quote it was decided upon because of the Indianapolis 500 and horse racing, and is quoted in the following paragraph.

According to Indianapolis attorney, Richard D. Tinkham, the nickname “Pacers” was decided on through a collective decision of the original investors. Tinkham, one of those investors, recalled that the nickname was a combination of the state’s rich history with the harness racing pacers (investor Chuck Barnes was a horse racing enthusiast) and the pace car used for the running of the Indianapolis 500.http://www.nba.com/pacers/history/pacers_name_history.html

Pacers Using Top Opponents to Measure Team Performancehttp://www.nba.com/pacers/news/preview_091016.html

The Indiana Pacers have constructed a rugged pre-season schedule in the hopes it would allow them to gauge themselves against the league’s elite teams. All seven of the scheduled games were against opponents that made the playoffs in 2008-09. For a team with designs on making the playoffs in 2009-10, however, it's just what Head Coach Jim O'Brien wants. "It's always good to play top-flight teams in the preseason," he said. "I welcome it."

When asked what the team would get from playing preseason match-ups against teams that averaged 52 victories, his response was "Well, you get Carmelo Anthony dropping 45 on you," said O'Brien, referring to the Pacers' last outing, a 128 to 112 loss to the Nuggets in Beijing while on their Asian tour. "It was a very good experience to play Denver back-to-back, especially coming off a win, and seeing the pressure that great individual players put on you”.

"Certainly, Houston doesn't have Yao (Ming) but they're a formidable team and then you go to New Orleans and you have to play against (Chris) Paul and (David) West and (Peja) Stojakovic and (Emeka) Okafor. They all present challenges to you. They can defend at a very high level … so you're trying to score against teams you know take pride in defense."

The early part of the pre-season normally leans toward individual player evaluation, while the second is more for team preparation and learning to play together. It is a time to establish best plays and run game plans.

Because of injuries and the Asia trip, plus injuries Coach O'Brien has had to rethink his schedule just a bit.

Like the Detroit Pistons, but not to the same extreme, the Pacers are reshaping their team. They have taken the approach that playing against the best will only help make them a better team once the season I underway.

• Herbert Simon and Melvin Simon:
  • Indiana Pacers Owners

• Jim O'Brien
  • Head Coach

• 1967: Founded (Joined NBA in 1976)

• 1987: Reggie Miller drafted.

• 2000: Lose NBA Finals to Los Angeles Lakers

• 2003: Larry Bird returns as Pacers President of Basketball Operations