Indiana Pacers: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards
By Owen Nelson
As the Indiana Pacers continue to rise, they will undoubtedly have players in the conversations for NBA awards. Here are the best candidates for 2018-19 awards.
The Indiana Pacers are one of the 13 remaining teams in the NBA who haven’t yet won that elusive Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Chuck Person was the fourth pick in the 1986 NBA Draft and is the only Pacer to win Rookie of the Year. Person achieved that feat in 1987 after averaging 18.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. The Pacers have also had one winner of the Defensive Player of the Year Award: Ron Artest, who won it in 2004.
Furthermore, Detlef Schrempf won back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year awards in 1991 and 1992. Moreover, the Pacers have some kind of obsession with winning the Most Improved Player award. Jalen Rose won it in 1999, Jermaine O’Neal won it in 2002, Danny Granger won it in 2009, Paul George won it shortly after in 2013, then Victor Oladipo recently won it in 2018.
Unfortunately, the Pacers have never had a player to win the Most Valuable Player award in their 51-year history. Many believed Paul George would grow into a perennial MVP candidate, but that never materialized. Could Oladipo be in the conversation for MVP next season? Time will tell.