Oscar Robertson & George McGinnis ABA Era

Lore & Background

The Pacers arrived in the ABA in 1967 with a bold vision: build a team around one of the most complete players in basketball history. Oscar Robertson, already a national icon from his Cincinnati high school days and his MVP seasons in Milwaukee, signed on and immediately elevated the franchise. His court vision was otherworldly; fans in Indianapolis would pack the arena just to watch him thread no-look passes that turned defenders into statues. Under the steady hand of head coach Bob Kurland, the Pacers developed a balanced, fast-paced identity that made them perennial contenders. The 1970 and 1972 ABA Championships cemented the team's legitimacy and gave the city a taste of what it felt like to be the best in a league. By 1974, Robertson had moved on, and the Pacers turned to George McGinnis, a power forward whose post moves and relentless scoring made him one of the ABA's most feared interior players. McGinnis carried the Pacers through a competitive stretch that included a deep run in the 1975 ABA Playoffs against the storied Kentucky Colonels, a rivalry that had defined the league's final years. The 1976 merger with the NBA was bittersweet—exciting for the franchise's future, but it meant the end of the ABA as a distinct entity and the end of an era in which the Pacers had been kings. What Robertson and McGinnis left behind was more than trophies. They established a culture of competitive excellence and showmanship in Indianapolis that the franchise has carried, in one form or another, ever since. Pacers fans who remember those years speak of them with a reverence that goes beyond statistics—they speak of a time when their team was the league's heartbeat.

In Their Own Story

The arena was a cauldron of noise. The 1970 ABA Finals, Game 5, and the Pacers trailed by two with under a minute left. Oscar Robertson had the ball at the top of the key, and the Oakland Oaks defenders closed in like wolves. He didn't rush. He let the double team come, felt the pressure on his shoulders, and then—without looking—flicked a pass through a gap no one else could see. His teammate caught it, rose, and the ball swished through the net with a sound that cut through the roar. Robertson didn't celebrate. He just nodded, wiped his brow, and walked back on defense. The Pacers had their title. In the tunnel afterward, the locker room was a storm of shouting, towels thrown in the air, and a young Robertson, still in his white jersey, simply smiling the quiet smile of a man who had done what he always did: made the impossible look effortless. Indianapolis would never be the same.

Reader's Guide

1967–1972: The Robertson Dynasty The ABA launches and the Pacers immediately sign Oscar Robertson, the two-time MVP, to be the face of the franchise. Head coach Bob Kurland builds a fast, balanced system around Robertson's passing and scoring. The defining moment comes in the 1970 ABA Finals, where the Pacers defeat the Oakland Oaks to claim their first championship. A second title follows in 1972, solidifying Indianapolis as an ABA power. The era ends when Robertson, a free agent, moves to the NBA in 1974, leaving a void no one thought could be filled. 1974–1976: The McGinnis Transition The Pacers draft George McGinnis and build around his dominant post game. He becomes the league's premier inside scorer and carries the team through a competitive stretch that includes a painful 1975 ABA Finals loss to the Kentucky Colonels—a rivalry that had defined the league's final years. The 1976 ABA-NBA merger closes the chapter. The Pacers enter the NBA as a new team, but the foundation Robertson and McGinnis laid—competitive pride, a loyal fanbase, a city that cared—carries forward into the next era. For fans, these two stretches are inseparable. Robertson made the Pacers a destination; McGinnis kept them relevant through the transition. Together, they are the bedrock of Pacers identity.

Did You Know?

• Oscar Robertson was already a two-time NBA MVP and a national superstar before he signed with the Pacers in 1967, making him one of the biggest-name players ever to join an ABA franchise.
• The Pacers' rivalry with the Kentucky Colonels was one of the ABA's most intense, with the two teams meeting in multiple playoff series and Finals throughout the 1970s.
• George McGinnis went on to become a 7-time ABA All-Star, making him one of the most consistently elite players in the league's short history.
• The 1976 ABA-NBA merger meant the Pacers entered the NBA as a new franchise, but the Robertson and McGinnis eras are still considered the foundation of the team's identity in Indianapolis.