Top five small forwards in Indiana Pacers history
Qualifiers: the Indiana Pacers have more than 40 years of history in the ABA and NBA, so players should have at least two seasons with the team. Also, players will be classified under one position even if they played at more than one.
Roger Brown:
Four-time ABA All-Star Roger Brown helped lead the Indiana Pacers to their three championships in the 1970s. Brown was a savvy one-on-one scorer and a great shooter who spent the first and best seven years of his career in Indiana. He averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists during his tenure. Brown was one of 12 ABA players to score 10,000 points and one of just four Pacers to reach the milestone with the team.
Chuck Person:
Former sharpshooting Pacer Chuck Person spent the best years of his career in Indiana from 1986 to 1992. Person got off to a great start in the NBA by leading the Pacers to just their second appearance in the NBA playoffs in 11 seasons; he took home the 1986 Rookie of the Year award. In six years with the Pacers, Person maintained averages of 19.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He totaled 13,858 points, 4,763 rebounds, 2,645 assists and 1,220 threes in his 13-year career.
Danny Granger(notes):
Danny Granger, Indiana's current All-Star small forward, has been the Pacers' top scoring option for the last four seasons. Granger increased his scoring output every season from his rookie 2005-06 season to 2008-09 when he averaged a career-high 25.8 points per game and won the Most Improved Player award. He boasts career averages of 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists through 448 games in Indiana. Granger already places second on the Pacers' all-time three-point shooting list with 808 treys.
Detlef Schrempf:
Three-time All-Star forward Detlef Schrempf was a super-sub for the Pacers in the early 1990s. Schrempf was a great passing forward who could score in the post and on the perimeter. He was an all-around offensive star and he spent some of his best years in Indiana. Schrempf won back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year awards in 1991 and 1992 with overall averages of 17.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists in his five-year run with the team.
Ron Artest(notes):
All-Star forward and lock-down defender Ron Artest became one of the most infamous Indiana Pacers during his time with the team from 2002 to 2006. In 2003-04, Artest became the first Pacer to win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award. A few months later, he stormed the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills and attacked the wrong fan. Artest missed all but seven games of the 2004-05 season due to suspension, managing only 193 total regular season games with Indiana. He averaged 16.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game as a Pacer.
Honorable mention: top defensive forward Derrick McKey finished out his prime in Indiana and was named to two All-Defensive teams as a Pacer.
