Ranking 10 worst Pacers starters of the Reggie Miller era
By Jack Simone
Ranking 10 worst Pacers starters of the Reggie Miller era: 4. Erick Dampier
Yet another player who had a very long career in the NBA, Erick Dampier spent 16 seasons in the league. He played for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, and Dallas Mavericks, with most of those years being played with the latter two teams.
In fact, Dampier only spent one season with the Pacers, and it was his rookie year. He appeared in 72 games for the club and started 21 of them, making him eligible for this list.
At 6-foot-11, Dampier played the center position for the Pacers in his rookie year with the team, as they selected him with the 10th-overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and used him as a spot starter.
In his one and only year with Indiana, Dampier averaged 5.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting just 39.0% from the field (and he wasn’t a three-point shooter).
Those numbers aren’t great, and at first glance, one may believe Dampier to be a bust for this reason. He only spent one year with the team, he wasn’t great, and then he was gone.
In reality, Dampier was used in a trade to bring Chris Mullin to Indiana, and that’s the only reason he isn’t higher on this list.