1971–72 Indiana Pacers season

The 1971–72 Indiana Pacers season was the fifth season of the Pacers in the American Basketball Association. The Pacers finished second in the Western Division and won their second ABA title. In the division semifinals, the Pacers required seven games to eliminate the Denver Rockets. In the division finals, the Utah Stars were eliminated in seven games. The New York Nets appeared in the ABA Championships for the first time and were defeated by the Pacers in six games.

1971–72 Indiana Pacers season
Head coach	Bobby Leonard
Arena	Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum
Results
Record	47–37 (.560)
Place	Division: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	ABA Champions (Defeated Nets 4–2)
Stats at Basketball Reference
< 1970–71 1972–73 >

Offseason

ABA Draft

Main article: 1971 ABA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team

Roster

1971–72 Indiana Pacers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SG 12 John Barnhill 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) March 20, 1938 Tennessee State SF 35 Roger Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) May 22, 1942 Dayton SG 33 Larry Cannon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) April 12, 1947 La Salle SF 22 Wayne Chapman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) June 15, 1945 Western Kentucky C 34 Mel Daniels 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) July 20, 1944 New Mexico PF 20 Darnell Hillman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) August 29, 1949 San José State SG 11 Billy Keller 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 177 lb (80 kg) August 30, 1947 Purdue G 15 Arvesta Kelly 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) November 20, 1945 Lincoln (MO) PG 14 Freddie Lewis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) July 1, 1943 Arizona State PF 30 George McGinnis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) August 12, 1950 Indiana SG 10 Rick Mount 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) January 5, 1947 Purdue PF 24 Bob Netolicky 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) August 2, 1942 Drake G 15 Mike Price 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) September 11, 1948 Illinois PF 33 Don Sidle 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) June 21, 1946 Oklahoma G 12 Marv Winkler 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 164 lb (74 kg) February 18, 1948 Louisiana

Head coach Bobby Leonard Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Pacers points	Opponents	Record
1
2

^[1]

Season standings

1971–72 ABA Western Standings

Western Division	W	L	PCT.	GB
Utah Stars	60	24	.714	–
Indiana Pacers	47	37	.560	13
Dallas Chaparrals	42	42	.500	18
Denver Rockets	34	50	.405	26
Memphis Pros	26	58	.310	34

^[2]

Player stats

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	TRB	APG	PPG
Roger Brown	78	38.3	.478	.308	.805	6.4	3.9	18.5
Mel Daniels	79	37.6	.505	.000	.703	16.4	2.2	19.2
Freddie Lewis	77	35.2	.428	.310	.861	4.2	4.7	15.4
Bob Netolicky	83	35.0	.479	.211	.724	9.2	1.0	15.1
George McGinnis	73	29.8	.465	.158	.645	9.7	1.9	16.9
Rick Mount	78	27.3	.443	.317	.828	2.0	2.9	14.3
Billy Keller	76	22.8	.426	.331	.879	2.2	3.5	9.7
Darnell Hillman	73	19.0	.488	.200	.644	6.5	0.7	7.1
Larry Cannon	28	17.1	.383	.167	.718	1.2	2.6	6.6
Don Sidle	27	14.6	.503	.000	.633	3.5	0.4	6.5
Wayne Chapman	7	10.9	.389	.500	.500	0.7	1.6	2.6
Arvesta Kelly	4	10.3	.333			1.8	0.5	1.5
John Barnhill	19	10.2	.322	.114	.533	1.0	0.8	3.6
Marv Winkler	20	7.8 .	278	.500	.571	0.8	0.6	2.0
Mike Price	4	6.3	.333			1.3	0.3	1.5

^[3]

Transactions

Playoffs

Western Division Semifinals vs. Denver Rockets^[4]

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	March 31	Indiana	102–95	1–0	6,103
2	April 1	Indiana	105–106	1–1	6,521
3	April 4	Denver	122–120	2–1	5,304
4	April 6	Denver	96–112	2–2	6,109
5	April 8	Indiana	91–79	3–2	9,428
6	April 9	Denver	99–106	3–3	5,815
7	April 13	Indiana	91–89	4–3	8,643

Pacers won series, 4–3

Western Division Finals vs. Utah Stars

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 15	Utah	100–108	0–1	9,854
2	April 17	Utah	109–117	0–2	11,780
3	April 19	Indiana	116–111	1–2	7,489
4	April 22	Indiana	118–108	2–2	13,007
5	April 24	Utah	130–139	2–3	12,526
6	April 26	Indiana	105–99	3–3	8,103
7	May 1	Utah	117–113	4–3	12,724

Pacers won series, 4–3

ABA Finals vs. New York Nets

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	May 6	Indiana	124–103	1–0	7,483
2	May 9	Indiana	115–117	1–1	10,079
3	May 12	New York	114–108	2–1	15,241
4	May 15	New York	105–110	2–2	15,890
5	May 18	Indiana	100–99	3–2	10,079
6	May 20	New York	108–105	4–2	10,434

Pacers won series, 4–2

Awards, records, and honors

• Roger Brown appeared in the 1972 ABA All-Star Game
• Mel Daniels appeared in the 1972 ABA All-Star Game
• Freddie Lewis appeared in the 1972 ABA All-Star Game