Indiana Pacers: 25 Best Players To Play For The Pacers
By Phil Watson
1971-75, 1980-82. George McGinnis. 5. player. 100. <strong>How Acquired: </strong>Signed as underclassman, April 23, 1971; Trade, Denver Nuggets, Feb. 1, 1980.. PF-SF
George McGinnis was an All-American as a sophomore at Indiana, averaging 30.0 points and 14.7 rebounds per game and the Indiana Pacers wanted desperately to keep the hometown kid in Indy.
The Pacers signed McGinnis to a pro contract on April 23, 1971, agreeing to forfeit their first-round pick in the 1972 ABA Draft.
It was absolutely the right call.
McGinnis was a first team ABA All-Rookie selection in 1971-72 before making three straight All-ABA teams between 1972-73 and 1974-75. He was co-MVP of the ABA in 1974-75, sharing the honor with Julius Erving of the New York Nets, and was a three-time ABA All-Star.
He led the ABA in scoring in 1974-75, while finishing second in steals and three-pointers, third in assists (as a power forward), fourth in three-point shooting and fifth in rebounding in a tour de force while leading Indiana to a surprising bid in the ABA Finals.
McGinnis was second in the league in scoring in 1972-73 and 1973-74, also finishing second in rebounding in 1973-74 and fourth in 1972-73 and, for good measure, was fifth in field goal percentage in 1972-73.
He helped the Pacers to ABA titles in each of his first two seasons, averaging 18.3 points per game in a six-game win over New York in 1972 and earning Playoff MVP honors in 1973 after putting up 22.3 points per game in a seven-game victory over the Kentucky Colonels.
McGinnis’ 27.4 points per game weren’t enough in 1975, when Indiana fell in five games to the Colonels in the ABA Finals.
Along the way, the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA had thrown a second-round pick at McGinnis in the 1973 NBA Draft. In July 1975, McGinnis jumped leagues, signing with the 76ers after buying out his option year for $85,000.
He had first signed with the New York Knicks in May 1975, but the Knicks were ordered to forfeit their 1976 first-round pick and reimburse Philadelphia for legal expenses after NBA commissioners Larry O’Brien voided the deal.
McGinnis returned to Indy in February 1980, acquired from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Alex English and a 1980 first-round pick in a trade the Pacers would just as soon forget.
Waived by the Pacers in October 1982 after two seasons as a reserve, McGinnis retired.
In parts of seven seasons in Indiana, McGinnis averaged 19.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals in 32.8 minutes per game, shooting .462/.276/.650.
He was a two-time All-Star with the 76ers, earning All-NBA honors in 1975-76 and 1976-77 and finishing fifth in the MVP voting in 1975-76. He was also second in the league in steals that season.
McGinnis helped Philadelphia to the NBA Finals in 1977, but in August 1978 was dealt to the Nuggets. With Denver, he was an All-Star in 1979.
The only MVP winner in either league that is Hall of Fame eligible but not selected for induction, McGinnis is sixth in ABA history with 525 steals and an average of 38.2 minutes per game and fifth with averages of 25.2 points and 12.9 rebounds per game.
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