Indiana Pacers: 30 greatest players in franchise history

28. Thaddeus Young

Like Bojan Bogdanovic, Thaddeus Young is another player that wasn’t with the Indiana Pacers for the longest period of time. He spent 3 seasons with the team before opting to join the Chicago Bulls in the summer of 2019.

Indiana gained Young’s services during the 2016 NBA Draft when the Pacers swapped a first-round draft pick with the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for his contract. The Nets went on to select Caris LeVert with this pick, while the Pacers gained a strong, veteran leader for their budding, young team.

Statistically, Young’s contributions aren’t completely eye-popping, but he did so many unsung things on the court for the Pacers that don’t always show up on traditional stat sheets.

His presence on defense next to Myles Turner in the frontcourt turned Indiana into a tough team to score against for 3 straight years. His quick and active hands created a high level of deflections, leading to many a steal and fastbreak score for Indiana.

Lovingly referred to as “The Glue Guy” by Indiana Pacers’ faithful the last few seasons, Thad Young was the constant, reliable competitor for this team his entire time here. A mainstay in the starting lineup, Thad played 74, 81, and 81 games at the starting power forward in each of his respective campaigns with the squad.