Antonio Davis

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Antonio Davis was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in the second round, 45th overall of the 1990 NBA draft. He initially went on to play with professional teams in Europe, rather than play in the NBA. He played with Panathinaikos in the Greek League from 1990 to 1992, and with Philips Milano of the Italian League, during the 1992–93 season. Davis also played in Europe's 3rd-tier level league, the FIBA Korać Cup, with both teams and while he was with Milano, he won the Korać Cup championship in the 1992–93 season. In 1993, Davis returned to the United States to play in the NBA for the 1993–94 season when he signed with the Indiana Pacers as a free agent. As a rookie off the bench, Davis played in 81 games and helped the Pacers to the playoffs where they swept the Orlando Magic in three straight games then upset the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in six games in the first two rounds en route to facing the Patrick Ewing-led New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers dropped the first two games in New York before rebounding to take the next two in Indiana; in game five in New York teammate Reggie Miller scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Pacers to the victory. The Pacers then returned to Indianapolis with the chance to clinch the Eastern Conference title but lost both game six and the series.

In Their Own Story

The next year the Pacers won 52 games and the Central Division title thanks to the addition of Mark Jackson; Davis meanwhile played in 44 games averaging 7.6 points a game with 6.4 rebounds a game as he missed significant time due to injury. In the playoffs the Pacers faced the Atlanta Hawks for the second consecutive season. The Pacers swept the Hawks in three straight games, then found themselves in a rematch with the Knicks in the second round; in game one (which saw the ejections of Davis and Derek Harper) teammate Reggie Miller made a three-pointer and then stole the inbounds pass and tied the game with another three-pointer right in front of Knicks fan Spike Lee who was just a few feet away. Miller added 2 free throws and gave the Pacers a comeback win. The Pacers lost Game 2 and the series returned to Indiana. After four games, the Pacers took a 3–1 series lead; however, the Knicks bounced back and forced the seventh game at Madison Square Garden. The Pacers emerged victorious as Patrick Ewing's last-second shot did not go in the basket. With a 1-point win, the Pacers qualified for the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season. As with their first and second-round opponents, the Pacers played a young talented Orlando Magic team led by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway in a rematch of the previous postseason. The Pacers pushed Orlando to a 7th game before losing the series.

Reader's Guide

The following season was the most challenging in franchise history but despite that the Pacers duplicated their record from the previous season, 52–30, with Davis averaging 8.8 points a game with 6.1 rebounds a game. In the playoffs, the Pacers were defeated by the sixth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in five games. In the 1996–97 season the Pacers finished sixth in the Central Division with a record of 39–43 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1989 despite Davis playing in 82 games, starting 28 of them and averaging 10.5 points with 7.3 rebounds a game. The next year the Pacers bounced back and won 58 games and the second seed in the Eastern Conference (with the additions of former Boston Celtics player Larry Bird as head coach and veteran all-star Chris Mullin) with Davis playing in 82 games for the third year in a row while starting 12 of them and averaging 9.6 points a game and 6.8 rebounds a game, in the postseason the Pacers defeated the Shawn Kemp-led Cleveland Cavaliers and Ewing-led New York Knicks in the first two rounds before being matched up with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, after losing the first two games in Chicago, the Pacers responded by winning games three and four to force a deciding game five back in Chicago, a game in which the Bulls won by a score of 106–87 to force a deciding sixth game back in Indiana, game six would be a hard-fought game in which the Pacers won by a score of 92–89 to send the series back to the United Center in Chicago for a deciding seventh game of the series, in game seven the Pacers fought and claw their way to every possession but it was not enough in the end as the eventual champion Bulls still prevailed by a score of 88–83 to win the series.

Did You Know?

• Antonio Davis was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in the second round, 45th overall of the 1990 NBA draft, but initially played in Europe before joining the NBA.
• Davis won the FIBA Korać Cup championship with Philips Milano during the 1992–93 season.
• Davis was traded from the Pacers to the Toronto Raptors on August 1, 1999, in exchange for the 5th pick of the 1999 NBA draft, Jonathan Bender.