Indiana Pacers: 10 best point guards in franchise history

Though the Indiana Pacers haven’t found many legends at the one slot, they have had some iconic and memorable point guards over the years

A team’s point guard is the floor general, the quarterback equivalent within the game of basketball. It’s almost without a doubt the hardest position in the game of basketball to play at a high level, and the Indiana Pacers aren’t one of the first teams to come to mind when one thinks of the best point guards of all-time.

Their best player of all-time, Reggie Miller, played the two. In recent eras, it’s been Paul George at the three and Victor Oladipo at the two.

With decades of history to pull from, though, there are some notable point guards that have graced the box scores for the blue and gold.

While the list of the top 10 for Indiana doesn’t look like a legendary listing of point guards, it tells an interesting story about one team’s struggles with the position over the years and provides a snapshot as to how one position has perpetually looked for a singular team, no matter the era.

Let’s dive in, starting with three honorable mentions.

Honorable mention — Darren Collison

Traded to the Indiana Pacers in 2010, Collison’s first run with the Pacers was two years in length as the team was starting to ascend toward greatness in the Eastern Conference under their newfound star in Paul George.

Collison would be the first starting point guard George would play with, although his time with George would be short-lived, as George Hill took over the starting point guard duties shortly after.

Collison would return to the Pacers for the final two years of his career from 2017-19, leading the NBA in 3-point percentage in the 2017 season with a 46.8 percent shooting mark.

Over the course of his four-year Pacers tenure split across two different stints, Collison averaged 11.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. He shot an impressive 40.3 percent beyond the arc.

Honorable mention — T.J. Ford

There were some lofty expectations for Ford, given that the Pacers had just acquired him as part of the deal where they sent out franchise star Jermaine O’Neal.

Ford had a propensity to rattle off points in volume, but was relatively inconsistent on the offensive end. Playing in the years just prior to the Paul George era, Ford didn’t see much success with the Pacers.

In his three years with the team, Ford averaged 11.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game.

Honorable mention — Jerry Sichting

Drafted and waived by the Warriors without ever playing a game, Jerry Sichting’s NBA aspirations felt destitute when he started his professional career in the CBA.

Eventually, the Pacers would give him a shot, and Sichting would do quite well once he proved he was worthy of an increased role. His first two seasons were defined by bench minutes, only playing 9.7 and 15.6 minutes per game in those seasons.

The following three seasons, though, Sichting would play 29.6 minutes per game and prove he belonged in the NBA, averaging 10.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game from 1983-85.

Sichting would go on to play five more years with the Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets, and Milwaukee Bucks.

10. Ricky Sobers

Ricky Sobers had an 11-year career that peaked early, with him playing his best two years with the Indiana Pacers in seasons three and four of his career.

As a Pacer, Sobers averaged 17.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game.

Traded by the Suns to Indiana in exchange for Don Buse, Sobers played nearly 39 minutes in his first year with the Pacers and appeared in almost all 82 games in both seasons he played with the Pacers. Sobers benefitted from a key role on a poorly performing Pacers team that was having a tough transition to the NBA.

The Pacers had sold off many of its stars in recent years to keep the lights on and to cover the introductory NBA fees from when the ABA and NBA merged.

Sobers would go on to play for a few more teams in the NBA, but never received a role as large as the Pacers were willing to afford him, thus limiting his statistical output.