Indiana Pacers 50th anniversary: All-Decade team, 1987-97
The Indiana Pacers are celebrating their 50th year as a franchise in 2017. Here we present the Pacers’ All-Decade team for their third 10 years of existence, 1987-97.
The early years in the NBA were difficult for the Indiana Pacers, but things began to look up as the franchise embarked on its third decade.
Under the leadership of general manager Donnie Walsh, the Pacers began to build a team (mostly through the NBA Draft) that would ascend, and ultimately, contend.
Indiana made the NBA Playoffs seven times during this decade, including two appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals (1994 and 1995).
New rivalries were born, as the New York Knicks provided a formidable playoff foe for the Pacers in the early ’90s. New stars also appeared on the horizon, several of whom will be featured on this All-Decade team.
#CrownRoyalPacersSweepstakes my favorite pacers moment is the 8 points in 9 seconds Reggie Miller vs the Knicks!
— Justin Nevins (@jnevs04) March 3, 2017
The 10-year period between 1987-97 signaled a reemergence for the Indiana Pacers, creating a transition from a rather gloomy first NBA decade for the franchise; hope and success were now the words of the day.
In honor of the Indiana Pacers’ 50th season as a franchise, we are naming an All-Decade team for each 10-year span in the team’s history.
Each Pacers All-Decade team will have five members and they are listed in alphabetical order. We continue the series now with Indiana’s third decade as a franchise, 1987-97. You can check out the previous All-Decade teams here: 1967-77 and 1977-87.