The Indiana Pacers’ own Tyrese Haliburton contributed to the immediate popularity of the 82-0.com website.
“Retiring from 82-0 cuz stop it,” Haliburton posted on X.com after his lineup of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Moses Malone managed “just” a 77-5 record.
The 82-0.com website, which went viral in early June, challenges users to achieve a perfect 82-0 record with a five-player lineup selected in a five-round draft of random players from random franchises from random decades. You might pick from the Indiana Pacers of the 2020s in one round and the Boston Celtics of the 1960s in the next.
Could Haliburton – or anyone – achieve an 82-0 record using five players from Haliburton’s own franchise? After a lot of spins of the 82-0.com simulator to get the full lists of Indiana players and statistics for each decade, plus some help from the internet math whizzes who cracked the approximate 82-0.com algorithm, we crunched the numbers and figured out the optimal Pacer picks.
Could an all-Pacers lineup go 82-0?
In a word: No.
The best possible lineup of all-Indiana players would generate a record of around 68-14 at 82-0.com.
That lineup? Haliburton, from the 2020s, and Victor Oladipo, from the 2010s, are interchangeable as point guard and shooting guard. Domantas Sabonis from the 2020s is the best pick for center.
The forward spots are where things get surprising. Short-term Pacers Adrian Dantley from the 1970s and Mickey Johnson from the 1980s are the best possible selections. This highlights a flaw (or loophole) in the game. The site utilizes the stats for a player’s best five-season stretch with a franchise within a given decade. If a player wasn’t with a franchise for five years within a decade, the site utilizes whatever stats were accumulated.
As a result, Dantley and Johnson look like all-time Pacer greats based on their short stints in Indiana. In reality, Dantley was a Pacer for a grand total of 23 games, during which time he averaged 26.5 points per game. Johnson played just one season in Indiana, putting up 19.1 points and 8.3 rebounds for the 1979-80 squad.
If you prefer a lineup of players who spent significant time in Indiana, your best options are Jermaine O’Neal from the 2000s at power forward and Billy Knight from the 1970s as your small forward. The Haliburton-Oladipo-O’Neal-Knight-Sabonis lineup would generate a record of about 64-18.
Best Pacer picks
For those who are still spending hours at 82-0.com searching for the elusive perfect record, here are your best Indiana options for each decade, in order of the likely points the player will generate for your team.
1970s – Adrian Dantley (SF), Dan Roundfield (PF), Billy Knight (SF or SG), Ricky Sobers (PG or SG), James Edwards (C)
1980s – Mickey Johnson (PF), Herb Williams (C or PF), Chuck Person (PF or SF), Vern Fleming (PG), Johnny Davis (SG or PG)
1990s – Detlef Schrempf (PF or SF), Michael Williams (PG), Reggie Miller (SG), Rik Smits (C), Dale Davis (PF)
2000s – Jermaine O’Neal (C or PF), Metta World Peace (SF, known as Ron Artest at the time, no danger of a season-ending suspension at 82-0.com), Jalen Rose (PG, SF or SG), Brad Miller (C or PF), Mike Dunleavy (PF, PG, SF or SG)
2010s – Victor Oladipo (PG or SG), Jeff Teague (PG), Paul George (PF, SF or SG), Troy Murphy (PF), Myles Turner (C)
2020s – Domantas Sabonis (C or PF), Tyrese Haliburton (PG or SG), Pascal Siakam (PF), Caris Lavert (SF or SG), Malcolm Brogdon (PG or SG)
Tips and tricks
If you grew up cheering on the Pacers of the 1990s, when Indiana reached the Eastern Conference Finals five times in seven years … don’t cheer them on at 82-0.com. The 1990s will generate the least productive 82-0.com options of any Pacer decade. If the random draft pick generator gives you Indiana in the 1990s, use your option to change decades.
The best decade for Indiana options is, not surprisingly, the 2020s. The Pacers have employed plenty of players who put up big offensive numbers in the current decade. Any defensive deficiencies don’t matter at 82-0.com.
The second-best option? Surprisingly, the 1970s, a forgettable era in Indiana’s NBA history. (If you’re wondering, ABA players and statistics are not used at 82-0.com).
Reggie Miller is rightly regarded as the greatest Pacer of Indiana’s NBA era, but he’s not a great pick at 82-0.com. Scoring isn’t weighted as heavily as other categories. Miller didn’t exactly put up big rebounding, assist, steal or block numbers. Other Pacer players are better picks, especially in the 1980s and 2000s.
Paul George’s relatively pedestrian stats from his first two seasons plus his injury-affected numbers from the 2014-15 season hurt his Pacer profile at 82-0.com. George was unquestionably the best Indiana player in the 2010s in real life, but don’t pick him at 82-0.com.
Oladipo, on the other hand, is a great pick from the 2010s. The 82-0.com site only takes his stats from his first season-and-a-half in Indiana – when he was a legitimate All-Star - into account. Oladipo’s post-injury stats apply to his profile for the 2020s. If you draw Indiana in the 2010s, don’t hold the circumstances behind Oladipo’s departure against him. He’s the best pick from the era.
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