Who makes the Indiana Pacers all-decade team for the 2010s?
The last decade for the Indiana Pacers hasn’t been great but you can’t call it bad at all. Out of the last 10 seasons, the Pacers missed the playoffs once due to the injury of Paul George. Those 9 years include six first-round exits, a second-round exit, and back to back Eastern Conference Finals losses.
The Pacers have been consistently above average with not much playoff success to back it up. Let’s take a look at a team made from the best and most impactful Pacers players that suited up throughout the last decade.
Indiana Pacers all-decade Point Guard – George Hill
No this isn’t my IUPUI bias coming out right here, you have to look at his stats and the success of the team with “The Hometown Hero” at Point Guard. George Hill‘s five years on the Pacers came in this decade where he averaged 12.3 points, 3.9 assists, and 3.7 rebounds. Those obviously don’t pop off the screen as star number, because they aren’t, that wasn’t his role.
George Hill had other options in front of him that were there to score, a few that will be on this same All-Decade team. George Hill could obviously score the ball if needed, being an efficient scorer, but the defensive end was his bread and butter I’d say. To go against the Big Three Heat, his defense and toughness were needed.
Obviously looking back on George Hill most fans will bring up the Kawhi Leonard trade, on fairness we got finessed on that trade, but George Hill was a fan favorite and a big piece of the Pacers’ success.
Honorable Mentions: Malcolm Brogdon and Darren Collison
Indiana Pacers all-decade Shooting Guard – Victor Oladipo
Flashback to June 30, 2017, and nobody you ask would see this coming, not even me. I wasn’t slamming the trade like most because I believed in Victor Oladipo. Victor Oladipo’s Pacers tenure has only been three seasons long with two seasons having him miss significant time due to injury but his impact warrants him the spot over the honorable mention in my opinion.
In Oladipo’s three seasons he averaged numbers of 20.7 points, 4.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and I have to include the 2.0 steals per game. Victor’s most impressive season was the 2017-18 season where he won Most Improved Player, made All-Defensive First Team, All-NBA Third team, and was named to the All-Star team for the first of his two times.
There hasn’t been playoff success in Oladipo’s tenure unless you want to count taking Lebron James to seven games. All three years have ended in first-round exits. Victor Oladipo is a fan favorite with his flashy play and his infectious personality, all love for VO not knowing what his future in the next decade holds.
Honorable Mention: Lance Stephenson (Bring him back!)
Indiana Pacers all-decade Small Forward – Paul George
He was the best Pacer of the decade, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see Paul George on the list. It’s fun to poke fun at Pandemic/Playoff P but I don’t think Pacers fans should hate Paul George, he was great for us.
When looking at his overall stats from the seven years as a Pacer, they don’t look amazing but you have to take into account his rookie season and his comeback season (and his sophomore season if you want to be nice). In those seven seasons, he averaged 18.1 points, 3.2 assists, and 6.3 rebounds but you have to remember the context and see that he had seasons of averaging 22-23 ppg along with three All-Star selections, the Most Improved Player award, and multiple All-NBA and All-Defensive team selections.
As a Pacer, Paul George blossomed into a two-way star leading the Pacers to back to back Eastern Conference Finals where they ultimately lost to the Big Three Heat. Although his tenure with the Pacers didn’t end in the greatest way, you gotta appreciate his time on the team.
Honorable Mention: Danny Granger
Indiana Pacers all-decade Power Forward – David West
He’s one bad man, so David West gets the spot on this team. David West brought grit, toughness, and leadership to the Pacers organization for four years where he averaged 14.0 points, 2.8 assists, 7.0 rebounds, and is in the same boat as George Hill. He could score if needed but the defensive end was where he was a force.
David West was the ultimate glue guy for the Pacers in their Eastern Conference Finals runs. He was a great post scorer, a defensive force, and a great veteran leader. David West was the type of player that any team could use he had a role and played it to the best of his ability. I know many might want to argue Domantas Sabonis over David West but I’m not giving that to him, David’s impact on the organization was great and should overshadow any negativity that comes from Pacer fans with his ring chasing.
Honorable Mention: Domantas Sabonis
Indiana Pacers all-decade Center – Roy Hibbert
Roy Hibbert was a game-changer, not with his stats, but his presence and mastering the verticality rule. Roy Hibbert’s scoring numbers definitely don’t jump out at you, and that’s because he was there to be an elite defender.
Let’s still take a look at his numbers though. In his five seasons in the decade, he averaged 11.8 points, 1.5 assists, 7.7 rebounds. Like I said with David West and George Hill, Roy Hibbert was there to play his role and he did it perfectly, being the defensive anchor for some good Pacer teams.
In his time with the Pacers, he made two All-Star teams and an All-Defensive team while cementing himself as one of the best defenders in the game of basketball at the time. Hibbert changed the game, but the game also changed quickly around him which lead to him falling out of the league. Roy was a fan favorite and will always be remembered for his great days as an Indiana Pacer and his infamous rant about the media will live on forever. How about we snatch him from the Sixers and get him on our staff?
Honorable Mention: Myles Turner