How many ABA championships did the Pacers win? <\/p>\n
The Pacers won three ABA championships, in 1970, 1972, and 1973.<\/p>\n
Indiana Pacers, American professional basketball<\/a> team based in Indianapolis<\/a> that plays in the Eastern Conference<\/a> of the National Basketball Association<\/a> (NBA). While playing in the American Basketball Association<\/a> (ABA), the Pacers won three league championships (1970, 1972, 1973).<\/p>\n Leading team of the ABA <\/p>\n The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the original members of the ABA, taking the name \u201cPacers\u201d in honor of Indiana<\/a> being home to the Indianapolis 500<\/a> automobile race and the state\u2019s long history of harness racing<\/a>. Coached by Bob (\u201cSlick\u201d) Leonard (1968\u201380), the Pacers lost in the ABA finals in their second season but won the ABA title the next year with a team led by forward Roger Brown<\/a>, one of the young league\u2019s first superstars, and center Mel Daniels. In 1971 the Pacers added forward George McGinnis and proceeded to win two consecutive championships in 1971\u201372 and 1972\u201373. The team joined the NBA alongside three other ABA franchises in 1976, having never missed the playoffs in its nine seasons in the upstart league.<\/p>\n Reggie Miller years <\/p>\n Initially, the Pacers were much less successful in the NBA, posting just one winning season in their first 13 years in the league. In 1987 the team drafted<\/a> shooting guard Reggie Miller<\/a>, who would go on to become the Pacers\u2019 career scoring leader. Miller was joined on the team by center Rik Smits in 1988, and in 1989\u201390 Indiana began a streak of seven consecutive postseason berths. The team reached the conference finals in 1993\u201394 and 1994\u201395, losing in seven games each time. After missing out on the playoffs in 1995\u201396, the Pacers advanced to the conference finals once more the following season under the guidance of first-year head coach Larry Bird<\/a> but were eliminated by the eventual-champion Chicago Bulls<\/a> in another seven-game series. Indiana returned to the Eastern Conference finals in 1998\u201399, only to lose at that stage for the fourth time in six years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Britannica Quiz<\/p>\n Great Moments in Sports Quiz<\/p>\n <\/a> Scrambling for the ball<\/a>Players from the Indiana Pacers (yellow and white uniforms) vying against those of the New Jersey Nets (dark blue) during a playoff game, Indianapolis, 2006.(more)<\/p>\n The Pacers finally broke through to the NBA finals in 1999\u20132000 after defeating their frequent playoff rival<\/a> the New York Knicks<\/a> in the conference finals. However, the Pacers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> in six games and were denied their first NBA title. Following the season, the Pacers experienced a great deal of personnel turnover, which included the retirements of Smits and Bird and a trade for young forward Jermaine O\u2019Neal. O\u2019Neal and Miller helped the team to five straight playoff berths from 2000\u201301 to 2004\u201305, which included another loss in the Eastern Conference finals. After Miller\u2019s retirement in 2005, Indiana made one more postseason appearance (a first-round loss in 2005\u201306) before beginning a rebuilding effort that resulted in a return to the playoffs in 2010\u201311.<\/p>\n Paul George era <\/p>\n A young Pacers team featuring All-Star forward Paul George<\/a> and center Roy Hibbert advanced to the conference finals in 2012\u201313, where Indiana lost in seven games to the Miami Heat<\/a>. The Pacers raced out to a 16\u20131 start in 2013\u201314 and finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference. However, the team sputtered down the stretch of the regular season and, after squeezing by a 38\u201344 Atlanta Hawks<\/a> team in a seven-game opening playoff series, the Pacers won their way into another appearance in the conference finals, where they were again eliminated by the Heat. George broke his leg during the following offseason, and the Pacers failed to qualify for the playoffs while missing their star player for most of the 2014\u201315 season.<\/p>\n Indiana Pacers Results by Season: 2020\u201321 to 2024\u201325 season record playoffs 2020\u201321 34\u201338 missed playoffs 2021\u201322 25\u201357 missed playoffs 2022\u201323 35\u201347 missed playoffs 2023\u201324 47\u201335 lost in conference finals 2024\u201325 50\u201332 lost in NBA Finals <\/p>\n Indiana rebounded to qualify for the postseason in 2015\u201316 but lost a seven-game series in the opening round. The team was again defeated in the opening round of the postseason the following year, a sweep at the hands of the defending-champion Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> that was decided by the smallest cumulative<\/a> point margin for a four-game playoff series (16 points) in NBA history. George was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> during the offseason, and in 2017\u201318 a rebuilt Pacers team surprisingly improved on the previous season\u2019s record and lost a seven-game series to the Cavaliers<\/a> in the first round of the postseason. Despite losing star guard Victor Oladipo to a season-ending injury in January 2019, the Pacers rallied to another playoff berth in 2018\u201319. The team again made the playoffs in 2019\u201320. That feat was followed by three losing seasons during which the team never won more than 35 games per season and missed the playoffs each year.<\/p>\n Return to prominence under Tyrese Haliburton <\/p>\n The rise of young guard Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> brought the Pacers back to relevance in the 2023\u201324 season. Propelled by Haliburton\u2019s flashy passing and shotmaking, the team reached the final of the inaugural In-Season Tournament, where it lost to the Lakers. That promising finish was followed by a remarkable team performance in the postseason, where the Pacers made a precocious<\/a> run to the Eastern Conference finals before falling to the Boston Celtics<\/a>. The next year Haliburton again led Indiana on an unexpectedly deep playoff run. After beating Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> and the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> in the first round, the fourth seeded Indiana handily beat the first seeded Cavaliers in the second round. The Pacers then faced the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals in a rebirth of the teams\u2019 heated 1990s rivalry. Indiana overwhelmed New York<\/a> with faster-paced play and timely shotmaking, winning the series in six games and earning a spot in the NBA Finals against Oklahoma City<\/a>. The series went to a game seven, and during the first quarter Haliburton suffered an Achilles injury. He left the game, and the Pacers were ultimately defeated by the Thunder.<\/p>\n![\"Serena](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Serena-Williams-womens-single-trophy-Australian-Open-Januray-28-2017.jpg\")
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