Does the NBA have something against the Indiana Pacers?
The league recently levied a $100,000 fine against the Pacers for “violating the Player Participation Policy” when Indiana rested several key players in a game against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 3.
One can respect NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s stated goal to penalize “behavior … that prioritizes draft position over winning,” while also wondering why the Pacers and Jazz (who were fined $500,000 for their roster decisions in a different game) are the only teams singled out for these types of fines this season.
Pacer fans with long memories likely read the news and had flashbacks to other occasions when the franchise didn’t get the benefit of the doubt on a league decision. Here’s a look back at some of those incidents, ranked from 1 to 10 on an “Out To Get Us” scale. A rating of 1 equals “it was probably a legitimate coincidence.” A rating of 10 translates to “they were definitely out to get us.”
A disclaimer: I prefer to write analytical articles with lots of stats to back me up. This is not one of those articles. This is very much the venting of a longtime Pacer follower.
1985 – The creation of the NBA Draft Lottery
The NBA instituted a lottery to determine draft selection order starting with the 1985 draft. This hurt the Pacers, who finished the 1985 season tied with the Golden State Warriors for the worst record in the league. Prior to 1985, the Pacers and Warriors would have taken part in a coin flip to determine the No. 1 pick. Instead, all of the league’s non-playoff teams got an equal chance at the top selection. As Indiana fans are well aware, the New York Knicks won the lottery and the rights to eventual Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing.
“Out To Get Us” rating: 3 of 10. The NBA couldn’t have known in the summer of 1984 that the Pacers would have one of the two worst records of the league in 1984-85. (However, if the “frozen envelope” theory or anything like it is ever proven true, this rating changes to a 10 of 10).
1994 – Reggie Miller’s flagrant foul to end the Eastern Conference Finals
Indiana’s 94-90 loss against New York ended in anti-climactic fashion when Miller’s foul to stop the clock in the final seconds and the Pacers trailing by one point was ruled flagrant. If the same amount of contact took place in a typical middle school game, it would be ruled a common foul. The Knicks hit the resulting free throws to clinch the trip to the NBA Finals.
“Out To Get Us” rating: 2 of 10. The flagrant foul call didn’t help, but the Pacers’ chances of winning shrank to almost zero once Miller airballed the heavily-defended attempt at a game-winning shot that preceded the flagrant foul.
1999 – Larry Johnson’s four-point play swings the Eastern Conference Finals
According to popular wisdom, the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals between Indiana and New York shifted the Knicks’ way when Johnson converted a four-point play in the final seconds of Game 3 to give his team a 92-91 victory.
Antonio Davis’ foul on the play seemed to take place well before Johnson’s shot. At least one reporter has claimed Jess Kersey, the referee on the play, admitted to missing the call. Pacer fans with even a little bit of paranoia took note of the matchup between the small-market Portland Trail Blazers and pre-dynasty-status San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals and wondered if the NBA had an interest in ensuring a big-market presence in the NBA Finals.
“Out To Get Us” rating: 4 of 10. Maybe even 3 of 10. Many forget the Pacers responded to the events of Game 3 with a decisive victory in Game 4, evening the series at two games apiece. The series was actually lost in Game 5, when Indiana blew a 14-point lead in what proved to be the last playoff game in Market Square Arena. The Knicks closed out the series with a decisive win in Game 6 back in New York. Pacer fans can’t realistically blame the events of Game 3 alone for that series getting away.
2004 – Pacers held 94% responsible for The Brawl
If we measure the blame assigned for the “Malice at the Palace” brawl at the end of the Pacers-Pistons game in Detroit in November 2004 based on the suspensions levied in the aftermath of the fracas, then the NBA apparently believed Indiana was 94% responsible.
Pacer players eventually served 137 games’ worth of suspensions. The suspensions to Pistons players added up to nine games. That works out to 94% of the total punishment levied against Indiana players.
I will never, ever, ever agree the Pacers were 94% responsible for the events of that evening.
“Out To Get Us” rating: 9.4 of 10. To be clear, the Indiana players involved were in the wrong and deserved the suspensions they got. I’m not arguing the punishment should have been lihgter.
However, Detroit’s punishment should have been more severe, either in the form of additional suspensions, loss of home games, loss of draft picks, or truly significant fines. The Indiana franchise wasn’t the same for another decade. Detroit was hardly affected. The Pistons returned to the NBA Finals that year and went on to play in the next four Eastern Conference Finals.
2026 – Pacers fined $100,000 for “violating the Player Participation Policy”
When announcing the fine, the NBA said Pascal Siakam and two other Indiana starters who were held out of the Pacers’ home game against Utah on Feb. 3 could have played.
Objectively, this is probably true. However, if any team deserves the benefit of the doubt in resting players, it’s Indiana, which has been devastated by injuries this season. If any franchise deserves the benefit of the doubt on tanking, it’s Indiana, which has steadfastly tried to be competitive over the years, even when all team-building logic dictated jockeying for draft position.
Indiana might have violated the letter of the Player Participation Policy, but you won’t convince me that other teams haven’t been equally guilty of violating the spirit of that policy this year.
“Out To Get Us” rating: 7 of 10. Indiana getting fined under these circumstances is the equivalent of an honor student who has never done anything wrong in their school career taking part in a senior prank that has been tacitly approved by school administrators for years – and then being the only student to get a suspension.