Indiana Pacers: 10 best shooting guards in Indiana Pacers history
By Josh Wilson
7. Chris Mullin
Chris Mullin spent most of his career at the three, but as a Pacer spent a significant amount of his best minutes at the two.
Mullin’s tenure with the Indiana Pacers is often forgotten, as the downturn of his career began in Indiana following some extremely high-level playing years with the Golden State Warriors.
Mullin, after 12 seasons in Golden State, was traded to the Pacers and spent three full years with the team, capping it off with the Finals run in 2000. By that point, though, Mullin wasn’t in a key role with the team, playing just 12.4 minutes per game that season.
As a Pacer, Mullin averaged 9.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game, amassing 13.4 win shares on some of the most competitive Pacers teams of all time.
Though it was short-lived and extremely underwhelming compared to what he brought to the table for the Warriors earlier in his career, Mullin, a five-time All-Star and Hall of Famer, still barely edges into the top-10.
The brand of a name like Mullin playing in a Pacers jersey was cause for excitement, but he just didn’t quite live up to the hype as a Pacer. Despite being below his typical production, he put together a solid mini-run with Indiana.
His experience and the veteran voice he brought to the locker room was where he provided value as the Pacers competed deep into the season.
6. Stephen Jackson
Stephen Jackson’s playing career with the Indiana Pacers is often overshadowed by his role in the Malice at the Palace — for which he was suspended 30 games — and some less than cheery off-court troubles. Jackson is aware of the taint this left on his reputation, given that he recently claimed he should have been an All-Star had it not been for his role in the incident.
Considering his stats, though, Jackson had a highly successful three seasons with the Pacers, averaging 16.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.
Jackson, following his 30-game suspension from the brawl with the Pistons, became an on-court leader for Indiana, averaging 18.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in the 2005 season, leading the team in scoring in the playoffs.
He followed that up with a double-digit scoring season the next year as well, and though a quality player, ultimately couldn’t lead the Pacers to much success on his own.
Following some off-court incidents before the 2006-07 season began, it seemed as though a change of scenery was inevitable, given all the drama Jackson had put the Pacers through. They traded him to the Golden State Warriors where he carved out a respectable role on the ‘We Believe’ Warriors.
The effects of the Malice at the Palace and Jackson’s involvement with it forced the Pacers to shake their roster up tremendously, leading to a four-year absence from the playoffs in the 2000s. It’s a great “what-if” for Jackson and the Pacers. He very well could have led the Pacers to a highly successful run alongside Ron Artest (now known as Metta Ford-Artest) had the brawl not happened.
Still, for a short period of time Jackson did put up quality points night in and night out, and helped keep the team afloat despite their foundation being cracked by the suspension that came down for the league’s worst brawl.