The Top 10 Draft Picks in Indiana Pacers History
By William Furr
4. Chuck Person
“The Rifleman” was drafted with the 4th overall selection in the 1986 NBA Draft, and did exactly what the Pacers needed: score, score, and score some more.
Chuck Person spent his first six seasons with the Pacers, never averaging less than 17 points while in the blue and gold while becoming one of the more bombastic, cocksure gunners in the NBA. He saved some of his best performances — and trash talk — for current Pacers president and then-Celtics Legend Larry Bird as the two went toe-to-toe regularly in the postseason.
“I’ve known Chuck for awhile and we’ve always had run ins,” said Bird in the video above after eliminating the Pacers, yet again, with a decisive Game 5 win in the first round of the 1991 playoffs. “It always seems like I get the last word.”
Bird did always beat the Rifleman in the end, but Chuck proved a great foil for Larry in the same way that Reggie Miller later would for Michael Jordan.
Person was eventually traded in 1993 to Minnesota, where he never bested his numbers with the Pacers but continued to be a prolific 3-point shooter.
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