Indiana Pacers: 5 of the weirdest stories from franchise history

A photoshoot killed the Pacers title aspirations

How superstitious are you?

Some sports fans have special rituals for game days that almost assuredly have no bearing whatsoever on the actual outcome of games.

Maybe it’s a lucky pair of socks, the exact right order of your evening leading up to tip-off, or a special song you play during commercial breaks.

Hey, if it’s not proven to not work, keep doing it…

Pacers fans are probably more superstitious than most, especially given the photoshoot that gutted the Pacers’ Finals aspirations.

iPacers detailed the photoshoot that ended it all gracefully.

The Pacers in 2013-14 looked like a legitimate threat to make the Finals. As we detailed just before, the Pacers took the Heat to six games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Prior to that, though, an infamous GQ cover with George Hill, Paul George, David West, Roy Hibbert, and Lance Stephenson appeared.

After the photo was released, the Pacers went barely above .500 (14-13) to close the season after winning over 75 percent of their games prior to the photo’s existence.

The team would trip and fall into the Eastern Conference Finals, and lost in Game 6, as we know. Paul George would return for two more seasons, but this season was their best chance of making the NBA Finals.

We can’t prove it was the photo, but we can’t prove that it wasn’t.