Indiana Pacers: 30 greatest players in franchise history

27. Bob Netolicky

In terms of championships, the Indiana Pacers have been much more successful as a team before they joined the NBA. Back in the days of the ABA, the team won 3 titles. Bob Netolicky was one of the most important pieces of 2 of these 3 championship runs.

An all-star in his first 4 years in the ABA, Netolicky was a dominant power forward for the blue and gold. In an era before the 3-point line, and before stats like steals and blocks were even being recorded, Netolicky was able to be one of Indiana’s most reliable anchors in the post in terms of scoring.

A 16 points per game career scorer, Netolicky’s best season in this regard came in his third year with the Pacers in 1969-1970. While the United States was landing on the moon, Netolicky was posting 20.6 points and 10.7 rebounds.

Netolicky bounced around to a couple of other teams in his career, but he still spent the overwhelming majority of his playing days in Indiana. It’s sometimes difficult to rank players from such different eras against guys from more recent teams, but Bob Netolicky could ball, bottom line, earning him a spot at number 27 on this list.