In the history of the Indiana Pacers, they have been mostly a successful franchise. They won multiple championships in the ABA before merging with the NBA. Unfortunately, they have yet to win an NBA title. In fact, they have only made the Finals one time.
They could have been in the Finals more often if a few players wouldn't have turned their backs on them. Most of that has happened in the more modern era. To be honest, the franchise didn't have much NBA success until Reggie Miller was drafted back in 1987.
There are 6 players that I have identified as having turned their backs on the Pacers when they could have used them the most. All of these guys had a chance to stick with the team when they were winning and were contenders for a title. Instead, they left in free agency for one reason or another.
The first player on this list is someone who left to pursue a contract with another team before eventually returning to Indiana. Unfortunately, by the time he came back, the title window had closed.
1. Lance Stephenson
The fanbase absolutely loves Lance. His antics are over the top and annoying, but he's Indiana's annoying player. Before his antics got out of hand, he was actually quite good for the Pacers in the mid-2010s and was a borderline All-Star for a couple of seasons.
After being a second-round pick back in 2010, he spent four seasons with the Pacers in his first stint. By the time he got to his fourth year, he was a bona fide starter on a really good team. Even late in his third season, he was a solid scorer who was big enough to guard wings too.
The 2013 playoffs were when he started to round into shape as a player. He averaged 9.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He upped that to 13.6 points and 6.9 assists to go along with 4.2 assists in the 2014 playoffs. His big body on defense is really what made him valuable.
Despite being offered a five-year $44 million contract to return to the Pacers, Stephenson left after that 2014 season to sign a three-year $27 million with the Hornets. That was a disaster. In fact, after he left the Pacers Stephenson bounced around five teams in four years before coming back to Indiana.
Had Stephenson returned, the Pacers might have been able to still win a title the following year. Of course, Paul George broke his leg that Summer so that ended any hope, but they could have at least made the playoffs. Stephenson had a shot to be the number-one option with George down too.
Speaking of George, he's the biggest offender and is next on this list.
2. Paul George
Indiana Pacers fans still hate Paul George to this day for what he did to the franchise. After budding into a star on those teams that took the Heat to the brink of elimination, George said he wanted to be a Pacer forever. He wanted to be the next Reggie Miller for the franchise.
Instead, that didn't happen. After the 2016-17 season, he requested a trade from the franchise. He was sent to Oklahoma City in return for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. He was the final member of that core to leave the franchise, leaving behind a great Pacers era.
The thing about George leaving is that he didn't even leave for more money. He signed a max contract with the Pacers and they wanted to keep him and build around him. Instead, George decided to leave the Pacers high and dry in the middle of that season, leaving his trade value diminished.
George later said that he wanted to leave because he didn't think the franchise was committed to winning at all costs after the Pacers refused to pursue Anthony Davis. Davis did confirm that he would have teamed up with him, making things even more frustrating for Pacers fans.
It's not that George wanted to leave Indiana that makes fans mad. It's how he did it. He spent his entire last season being vague about his future, fully knowing he wanted to be elsewhere. Fans will probably never forgive him for that.
The next player on this list is also another player from this same era.
3. David West
One of the best free agents to ever decide to sign with the Pacers, David West was the backbone of those mid-2010s Pacers teams. He was the guy that no one wanted to mess around with. He was the enforcer of the group and was the vocal leader in a locker room full of young guys.
West signed with Indiana in 2011 and was a master of the midrange. Anytime the Pacers needed a tough bucket at the end of the shot clock, they could pass it to him. He would make a fadeaway jumper from the elbow and was a nice pick-and-pop partner.
West also decided to leave the Pacers when they still had their title window open. With Paul George coming back from his broken leg, they would have had most of their core back, minus Stephenson. West was still good enough to help the team get to the playoffs.
Instead, West went ring-chasing elsewhere. He opted out of the final year of his contract and signed with the Spurs. He didn't win a title in San Antonio and was reduced to a bench player. He could have been a starter had he stayed with Indiana.
West did eventually win a couple of titles with the Warriors at the end of his career. It still would have been nice to keep him for one more run at a ring back in 2015. The next player on this list is actually one of the guys Paul George ended up getting traded for.
4. Victor Oladipo
The Indiana Pacers were exactly what Victor Oladiop needed in his career. When the Pacers traded George for Oladipo and Sabonis, they fully embraced a rebuild. Only it wasn't a rebuild because both of those guys made Indiana really good right away.
In his first year in Indiana, he won Most Improved after he averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and a league-leading 2.4 steals a game. He was an All-Star and helped the Pacers put a scare into the LeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers that made the NBA Finals.
He was an All-Star the following year again but suffered a devastating quad injury and missed a full year. Since then, he's never been quite the same. Even after the Pacers nursed him back to health and wanted to keep him for a long time, Oladipo made no secret that he wanted to go to Miami.
He would eventually get there after the Pacers traded him to Houston in a three-team trade that netted Indiana Caris LeVert. He left after that season to go to Miami. Currently, Oladipo is not in the league after being waived from multiple teams. His career is likely over.
Oladipo was really good before the injury but never seemed to fully embrace the idea of finishing his career with the Pacers even before he was hurt. Fans don't take it as personally because he hasn't been good since leaving, but he still turned his back on the franchise.
The final player on this list actually played with Oladipo and was one of the players who was huge for the Pacers in the playoffs.
5. Bojan Bogdanovic
Bojan Bogdanovic signed with the Pacers in the 2017-18 season after playing a season with the Wizards. He was a valuable member of the revamped Pacers team and was actually one of the primary scorers other than Oladipo in the playoffs in that 2018 run against the Cavs.
Despite Bogdanovic only playing two seasons in Indiana, Kevin Pritchard wanted to bring him back. He showed himself to be a valuable wing player who turned into a better defender than he was known for. He's also a deadeye shooter from distance and shot almost 50% from the field in the 2018-19 season with the Pacers.
After that season, Indiana offered him a deal to come back. He was going to sign with them until the Jazz came in at the last second with a four-year $73 million deal. It was a deal that made Bogdanovic decide to change his mind and head to Salt Lake City.
It would have been nice to keep him. Until this season with Aaron Nesmith playing well, the Pacers didn't really have a wing that they could rely on. T.J. Warren had half a season of being good for them, but that was about it.
These players turned their backs in varying degrees on the Pacers and fans have different relationships with each of them. It would have been nice to keep them all though.