Indiana Pacers 50th Anniversary: All-Decade Team, 1977-87

Steve Stipanovich

Statistics: 13.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.3 APG

The Indiana Pacers and the Houston Rockets were involved in a coin flip to determine who was going to get the top pick in the 1983 NBA Draft — the prize was college basketball superstar Ralph Sampson.

The Pacers lost the coin flip and the Rockets selected the 7-foot-4 Sampson with the first overall pick. Indiana used the No. 2 overall choice on Missouri center Steve Stipanovich.

“Stipo” became a steady performer for Indiana over the next few seasons. He combined a solid post game with a nice touch from the outside, which was unusual at the time — very few centers could step out and consistently hit 18-foot jump shots during this era.

For five years, Stipanovich was extremely reliable, playing in nearly every regular season game for the Pacers. However, he developed a degenerative knee condition that forced him to retire from the NBA in 1989 at the age of 28.

Despite his short career in the NBA, Stipanovich turned out to be more than a consolation prize in the Ralph Sampson Sweepstakes. Coincidentally, Sampson also suffered from chronic knee injuries and Stipo’s pro career nearly equaled Sampson’s when all was said and done.