It is the question that haunts every summer in Indianapolis. You’re sitting at a bar on Delaware Street, or maybe just scrolling through grainy highlights of Reggie Miller shove-pushing Greg Anthony, and it hits you. When's the last time the Pacers won a championship?
The answer is complicated. It depends on who you ask and how much of a "purist" they claim to be.
If you are looking for an NBA Larry O'Brien Trophy, the cabinet is empty. Zero. Zilch. It’s a harsh reality for one of the most consistent franchises in professional basketball. But if you count the ABA—the wild, red-white-and-blue ball era where the Pacers were essentially the Boston Celtics of their league—then the answer is 1973.
That’s over 50 years of waiting. It’s a long time.
The Golden Era: 1970, 1972, and 1973
To understand the soul of Indiana basketball, you have to look at the American Basketball Association. The Pacers weren't just good; they were a dynasty. Led by the legendary Slick Leonard on the sidelines, Indiana captured three titles in four years.
Imagine a team with Mel Daniels anchoring the middle, Roger Brown scoring at will, and George McGinnis playing with a physical dominance that felt decades ahead of its time. In 1973, they beat the Kentucky Colonels in a grueling seven-game series to take home their third title. That was the peak. That was the last time the Pacers stood at the very top of the mountain.
Then came the merger in 1976.
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Transitioning to the NBA wasn't easy. The league basically fleeced the incoming ABA teams, demanding massive entry fees and stripping them of draft picks. The Pacers almost went bankrupt. They survived, but the championship DNA seemed to get diluted by the sheer financial struggle of staying afloat in a bigger, more expensive league.
The 2000 Near-Miss and the Reggie Miller Era
If you grew up in the 90s, you didn't care about the ABA. You cared about number 31.
The closest the Pacers ever came to answering the question of when's the last time the Pacers won a championship with "this year" was the 2000 NBA Finals. It was the peak of the Miller Time era. Larry Bird was coaching. Jalen Rose was blooming into a star. Rik Smits was giving his last bit of effort on those giant feet.
They ran into the Shaq and Kobe Lakers.
Honestly, that Pacers team was good enough to win it all most years. They took the Lakers to six games. They fought. But Shaquille O'Neal was an immovable force of nature in 2000, and Indiana just didn't have the size to contain him. It remains the only NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.
Then there was 2004. Most fans actually think the 2004 team was better than the 2000 team. Jermaine O'Neal was an MVP candidate. Ron Artest was the Defensive Player of the Year. They won 61 games. Then, the Malice at the Palace happened. A single night in Detroit effectively ended a championship window that should have stayed open for half a decade. It’s the great "What If" of Indiana sports history.
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Why hasn't it happened since?
Small market woes? Maybe. Lack of a true superstar? Sometimes.
The Pacers have a reputation for being "too good to suck, but not good enough to win." They rarely bottom out for a top-three draft pick. Since the 1973 ABA title, they’ve made the playoffs in the vast majority of seasons. They’ve had the Hibbert/George era where they pushed LeBron’s Heat to the brink. They’ve had the Tyrese Haliburton explosion we're seeing now.
But winning four series in a row is a different beast.
In the NBA, the talent is concentrated. If you don't have a top-five player on the planet, your math for winning a ring gets real ugly, real fast. Indiana has had "Great" players—Reggie, Jermaine, Paul George—but they haven't had that "undisputed best in the world" guy since the ABA days.
Breaking Down the Drought
The timeline of heartbreak looks something like this:
- 1973: The last ABA Championship. A 4-3 series win over Kentucky.
- 1976: The NBA merger. Financial ruin nearly kills the team.
- 1994-1995: Back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals losses. The Knicks and Magic series are still painful to talk about in Indy.
- 2000: The lone NBA Finals appearance. Lost to the Lakers 4-2.
- 2004: The Malice at the Palace destroys a 61-win juggernaut.
- 2013-2014: The "Verticality" years. Roy Hibbert and Paul George lose to the Heatles in consecutive ECFs.
The Modern Hope: Can Haliburton End the Streak?
We’re currently seeing a shift in how the Pacers build. The trade for Tyrese Haliburton changed the trajectory of the franchise overnight. For the first time since the early 2000s, there’s an offensive identity that makes other teams terrified.
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Winning a championship in 2026 or beyond requires a perfect storm. You need the health, the seeding, and the right matchup. When's the last time the Pacers won a championship? The answer is still 1973, but the distance between then and now feels like it's shrinking for the first time in a decade.
The 2024 Eastern Conference Finals run was a reminder. Nobody expected them to be there. They swept through obstacles, played at a breakneck pace, and showed that the Fieldhouse can still be the loudest building in the league. They didn't win, but they put the league on notice.
How to track the Pacers' progress toward a title
If you're a fan or a bettor looking to see if this is finally the year the drought ends, you need to watch three specific metrics. First, look at their defensive rating. The Pacers can score on anyone, but championship teams almost always rank in the top 10 defensively. Second, watch the health of their core. Small markets don't have the luxury of "load management" if they want a high seed. Third, pay attention to the secondary star development—guys like Bennedict Mathurin or Jarace Walker need to become All-Star caliber players to support Haliburton.
To stay truly updated on the Pacers' championship pursuit, follow these steps:
- Monitor the Injury Report: In the modern NBA, availability is the best ability. Watch how the training staff manages Haliburton’s minutes.
- Check the Net Rating: Point differential is a better predictor of playoff success than raw wins and losses.
- Watch the Trade Deadline: The Pacers' front office, led by Kevin Pritchard, is notoriously aggressive. One "all-in" move could be the difference between a second-round exit and a parade on Pennsylvania Street.
The history is long. The 1973 banner is getting dusty. But in Indiana, basketball isn't just a sport; it's a religion. And the fans are still waiting for that first NBA miracle. Until then, we remember the ABA glory and keep an eye on the rafters.
The next step for any serious fan is to dive into the current salary cap situation. Understanding how the Pacers can add a "max" level player alongside their current core is the key to knowing when that 50-plus year wait might finally end. Check the latest cap projections for the upcoming offseason to see if the front office has the room to make a splash.