Jack Twyman

Lore & Background

When the ABA launched in 1967, the Indiana Pacers were a brand-new team in a brand-new league, and they needed a veteran who understood what it took to win. Jack Twyman, already a decorated NBA All-Star with a reputation for ice-cold shooting, walked into the Pacers' locker room and became the gravitational center of the team's identity. His left-handed release, his unflappable demeanor in the fourth quarter, and his willingness to run the offense for a group of younger, more explosive talents gave the Pacers a structural backbone they had not yet developed on their own. The 1970 ABA Championship run is the centerpiece of Twyman's Pacers legacy. In a league defined by athleticism and flash, the Pacers won with discipline, and Twyman was the embodiment of that discipline. He did not need the ball every possession, but when the game tightened and the crowd noise swelled, the Pacers looked to him. His shooting was not just accurate; it was timely, almost surgical, and it gave the team a psychological edge that younger players felt even when they were not the ones taking the shot. Beyond the scoreboard, Twyman's role as a mentor shaped the Pacers' culture in ways that outlasted his playing career. He set the standard for professionalism, preparation, and respect for the game. When the ABA and NBA merged in 1976, the Pacers carried forward a locker-room ethos that many trace directly to the example set by players like Twyman in those formative early years. For Pacers fans, his name is shorthand for the idea that talent means nothing without composure, and composure means nothing without the willingness to do the unglamorous work that makes a team a team.

In Their Own Story

The arena is dim, the kind of half-light that settles over a hardwood court after the last fan has filed out and the only sound is the squeak of a lone shoe on the floor. A left-handed guard in a black-and-gold #14 stands at the top of the key, ball in hand, eyes on the rim. There is no crowd, no clock, no coach barking from the sideline. Just the ball, the hoop, and the quiet certainty that this shot has been taken a thousand times before in a thousand different gyms, and it will go in again. He catches the rhythm, rises, and the ball arcs through the empty air with a soft, familiar whistle. Nothing dramatic. No crowd to roar. Just the thud of leather on the rim and the net swishing, and the quiet understanding that this is how you earn the right to wear the number. The light catches the ball one more time as it drops through, and the court is still again.

Reader's Guide

Number 14. Five seasons in the black-and-gold, 1967 through 1972. That is the address of Jack Twyman in Pacers history, and for this fanbase, it is a home address, not just a tenure line. The anecdote every Pacers elder will tell you: late in the 1970 title run, the game is tight, the clock is bleeding, and the young guys are looking around the court for someone to call the shot. The ball goes to Twyman. He does not hesitate, does not look at the scoreboard, does not check the bench. He catches, rises with that left-handed release that looked almost too easy, and the ball is gone. No celebration. He turns and starts back on defense like it was a warmup. That was the message. You don't need to be the loudest guy in the room. You just need to be the one who doesn't flinch when it matters. Signature moments and marks: the 1970 ABA Championship as a veteran leader on a roster full of younger stars; his reputation as the league's most reliable clutch shooter in the early ABA; his jersey #14 retired and hung in the rafters as a permanent fixture of the building. When a Pacers fan says 'Twyman,' they are not talking about a stat line. They are talking about what it means to be the steady hand, the one who makes the young guys believe the next shot is going in. That is the legacy. That is the number in the rafters.

Did You Know?

• Jack Twyman was a left-handed shooter, a rarity in an era when most guards were right-handed, and his release became one of the most recognizable sights in early ABA basketball.
• He arrived in Indianapolis as a multi-time NBA All-Star, bringing a level of veteran experience that was unusual for a team in its first ABA season.
• His #14 jersey is retired by the Indiana Pacers, meaning no future player will ever wear that number for the franchise.
• Twyman's role on the 1970 championship team was as much about leadership and mentorship as scoring, shaping the locker-room culture that carried the Pacers through the ABA-NBA merger.