Colton Bennett’s Indiana Pacers All-Decade Team
The 2010s have come to a close and the Indiana Pacers had themselves a strong decade. Site Co-Expert Colton Bennett gives his Pacers All-Decade Team.
George Hill, Victor Oladipo, Paul George, Danny Granger, David West
George Hill, PG 2011-2016
Hill will always receive some ire from Indiana fans because Kawhi Leonard was dealt in order to get him. That aside, Hill was a consistent presence during one of the most successful stretches in franchise history. He played at least 74 games in three of the five seasons he spent in Indianapolis and even stepped up to average 16.9 points per game the year Paul George was injured. He consistently held one of the lowest turnover rates in the league and took the toughest defensive assignment every night.
Victor Oladipo, SG 2017-Present
The feathery, former Indiana University guard swooped in and made a huge leap when the Pacers needed it the most. The Paul George era ended and the future looked bleak. Oladipo exploded for 23.1 points, his first All-Star selection, first team All-Defense, and a steals title during his inaugural season. His healthy stretch with the team was short, but his peaks made his inclusion unavoidable. If he returns to his prior form later this season, it would not be hard to picture his inclusion in the 2020 team of the decade as well.
Paul George, SF 2010-2017
PG may get booed every time he returns to Indiana for the rest of his career, but that doesn’t change what he did before demanding the trade. George is the best Pacers player of the millennium and one of the best in franchise history. He returned from the devastating injury he suffered with Team USA and averaged 23.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists over the next two seasons. He was the key figure in pushing the Heatles to the brink three times in four years and provided the best poster in Pacers history.
Danny Granger, PF 2005-2014
We will be going small ball in this line-up because Granger deserves a spot more than any traditional center. His best year did take place one season prior to the 2010s, but his 24.1 points per game in 2009-10 were the highest total by a Pacer the whole decade. It is a shame his prime was both squandered by bad teams, and cut short by injuries. Pacers fans missed out on a potential franchise altering pairing if him and George had been able to enter their primes together. He was somehow only a one-time All-Star, but there are few scorers in the association that could match him at the beginning of the decade.
David West, C 2011-2015
West is one of the biggest free agent signings the Pacers have ever scored and brought a game changing intensity from the very beginning. He was passed his prime when he arrived, but the balance the team held allowed his to continue to excel on the defensive end. The Pacers led the league in defensive rating his second and third seasons with the team and never finished outside the top-10. Although his tenure ended unceremoniously, his impact lives on. The tenacity he gave the Pacers of the early 2010s lives on in the current rendition of the squad.
Next. Jeremy Lamb will Continue to Raise the Pacers Ceiling. dark
Honorable Mention: Roy Hibbert, Myles Turner, Lance Stephenson, Domantas Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic, Darren Collison