1977 ABA Finals vs Kentucky Colonels

Lore & Background

The 1976-77 ABA season carried the weight of finality. The merger with the NBA had been announced, and the league's executives knew this would be the last time the ABA Finals meant the absolute pinnacle of professional basketball. The Pacers entered the postseason as a team still young, still finding its identity, but armed with a center in George McGinnis who could score, rebound, and anchor a defense with equal ferocity. Around him, guards like Scott May, Mike D'Antoni, and Billy Knight provided the perimeter fire and defensive grit that made Indiana a complete team. Across the paint stood the Kentucky Colonels, a franchise built around the sheer gravitational pull of Artis Gilmore, one of the most dominant big men the ABA had ever produced. Gilmore's presence in the low post was a constant threat, and alongside him, Louie Dampier and George Johnson gave Kentucky a veteran, experienced backcourt that had been to these big stages before. The contrast was the story: Indiana's energy and youth against Kentucky's size and experience. The series went six games, and the Pacers' ability to attack the glass, to run, and to make Gilmore work on the perimeter rather than in his comfort zone proved decisive. George McGinnis was everywhere—putting back missed shots, sealing off Dampier, draining mid-range jumpers in the clutch. The 4-2 result meant the Pacers had survived the physical test, and when the final buzzer sounded in Game 6, the ABA championship belonged to Indiana. It was a bittersweet triumph: the highest honor in their league, and the last one that league would ever bestow.

In Their Own Story

The arena smelled of popcorn and floor wax, the kind of thick, electric humidity that builds when a city holds its breath. McGinnis wiped sweat from his brow, felt the familiar ache in his knees, and looked across the court at Gilmore, who was already stretching, already preparing for the next possession. Scott May barked a screen call. D'Antoni jabbed at Dampier's handle. The crowd noise was a single living thing, a roar that rose and fell with every dribble. And then—there it was again. McGinnis, elbowing into the paint, catching the pass, rising over the outstretched arms, and putting it in with that soft, deliberate bank that was his signature. The net snapped. The horn hadn't sounded yet. He turned, looked up at the rafters, and for one suspended second the whole arena was just a single held breath before the eruption that followed. The ABA was ending. But tonight, it was theirs.

Reader's Guide

Indiana vs. Kentucky Colonels — 1977 ABA Finals, Game 6 (clinching game). The arena is packed to the rafters, the air thick with the knowledge that this is the last ABA title anyone will ever play for, and Indiana is one win from history. The clock is bleeding down. McGinnis has the ball at the top of the key, eyes locked on Gilmore, who is anchored in the paint with his back to the rim. May sets a hard screen on Dampier, who slides around it. McGinnis drives, absorbs the contact, and the crowd rises as one. He goes up—Gilmore rises with him—and for a heartbeat they are two giants locked in the air. McGinnis banks it off the glass. It drops. The net whips. The buzzer hasn't sounded yet, but the outcome is sealed. The arena detonates. Billy Knight is already sprinting toward the baseline, D'Antoni is hoisting a teammate onto his shoulders. On the other end, Gilmore stands under the basket, arms at his sides, watching the chaos. The broadcast voice cracks: "The Pacers have done it—the ABA is theirs, and it will never be again." Confetti, or maybe just the roar, fills the space. Somewhere in the stands, a fan is screaming a name. The ABA is over. But for this one night, Indiana is the best team in the world.

Did You Know?

• The 1977 ABA Finals was the last championship series the American Basketball Association ever held, as the league merged into the NBA after the 1976-77 season.
• Mike D'Antoni, who would later become one of the most recognizable coaches in NBA history, was a perimeter guard on this Pacers roster.
• Artis Gilmore, the Colonels' towering center, went on to become a Hall of Famer and one of the most dominant defensive big men in basketball history.
• George McGinnis, named Finals MVP, was a perennial All-Star and All-ABA selection who anchored the Pacers' frontcourt throughout the late 1970s.