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The Pacers family lost an icon on Wednesday with the passing of Nancy Leonard at the age of 93. The wife of Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster Bob "Slick" Leonard, Nancy played a pivotal role in the franchise's history and was instrumental in ensuring the Pacers remained in Indianapolis.
"Quite simply, we would not be here without her," the Simon family and Pacers Sports & Entertainment said in a statement on Nancy Leonard's passing. "From the earliest days of the franchise, Nancy poured her heart and soul into the team, not just as the wife of Slick Leonard, but as a female trailblazer who rallied the community when we needed it the most."
Mark Montieth told Nancy's life story in great detail in a three-part feature for Pacers.com that originally ran in 2014. Her 70-plus year love story with Slick began when they met as freshmen at Indiana University in the fall of 1950. They were married four years later, would have five children, and were together every step of the way on their lifelong basketball journey, including Slick's seven-year NBA career as a player and joining the Pacers in the franchise's infancy when Slick took over as head coach in 1968.
Under Slick's coaching, the Pacers were the ABA's most successful franchise, winning three championships in 1970, 1972, and 1973. They won all three championships on the road and Nancy was there for all three of them.
"One of her favorite memories is standing in the tunnel that led from the Pacers' locker room to the court before Game 6 in L.A. [in 1970], nervously awaiting tipoff," Montieth wrote. "Roger Brown, the last player out, sauntered by and said, 'You look like you're about to go to the death chamber.' Then he went out and scored 45 points to end the series."
While she wasn't an official team employee during the ABA years, Nancy was instrumental in a number of initiatives behind the scenes. Along with Sandy Knapp, she helped form the Pacemates – the first dance team in professional basketball – coaching the team and holding their first practices in the Leonard family basement.
When the Pacers joined the NBA in the ABA/NBA merger in 1976, the team owners asked Nancy to run the front office in an official capacity, hiring her as assistant general manager.
"She was fully in charge of the front office, likely the first woman in the history of professional spots to hold such a responsibility," Montieth wrote. "She downplays it all today, but those around her do not. Slick was the coach and general manager, and made all the basketball decisions. She directed the office of 13 employees and attended league meetings. It might be surprising to some that she was accepted into the formerly male bastion of general managers, but not to those who know her. She tends to command respect."
After that first year in the NBA, Nancy guided the franchise through its most significant crisis. When the ownership group announced it needed to sell 8,000 season tickets for the following season to raise enough money to keep the franchise afloat, Nancy quickly mobilized, organizing The Save the Pacers Telethon which aired on local television from 10 p.m. on July 3 to 2:30 p.m. on July 4, 1977.
The telethon succeeded, keeping the Pacers in Indianapolis. An emotional Nancy revealed on air that they had crossed the 8,000-ticket threshold in the final minutes of the broadcast. She remembered being especially moved by gestures from some of the Pacers' youngest fans.
“That was when I cried,” Nancy told Montieth. “We were right at the number and these kids start coming in with coffee cans. They had gone up and down the street and collected coins. That kind of told me what the community thought about the Pacers, even people who couldn't buy season tickets.”
Nancy's front office tenure and Slick's coaching career came to an end in 1980, but Slick returned to the franchise as a broadcaster a few years later and Nancy came back with him, this time as a fan.
She would drive Slick to every home game, continuing a tradition they had from his coaching days (she told a story at his celebration of life in 2021 that she insisted she always drove them to and from games after his aggressive driving after a loss startled her in the passenger seat). Slick would call the games on the radio with Mark Boyle, while Nancy would cheer on the team from the sidelines.
She was a fixture at Pacers home games for the past several decades. Nancy established close relationships with numerous players, coaches, and staff members over the years, even helping many of them purchase houses in her career as a real estate agent.
Nancy remained close to the franchise even after Slick's passing in April 2021. She was asked to be the Pacers' official representative for the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery. Last fall, she participated in a video shoot for the Pacers NBA Cup court, which paid tribute to Slick and his signature phrase of "Boom Baby!"
And at age 93, Leonard was there in her customary seat behind the Pacers' bench during the team's unforgettable run to the 2025 NBA Finals. After Indiana beat the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, many players and coaches made a point to embrace Nancy on the sidelines in the midst of the on-court celebration.
After the news of Nancy's passing, star guard Tyrese Haliburton posted a video of his hug with Nancy on social media.
"The First Lady of Indiana basketball," Haliburton wrote. "Before every game, I knew I could count on a wink and a smile behind the bench. There is no Pacers basketball without Nancy Leonard."
Before Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Nancy did a radio interview with Eddie White for the "Around the House" segment of Pacers Weekly. In it, she recalled her emotions earlier that week being in attendance for the Pacers' Game 6 victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“During the game I looked up into the stands with everybody with their yellow shirts on…and I thought, 'Bob, do you realize that you brought this here?,'" Leonard said. "These people are having a wonderful time because of what you did."
Nancy was right, of course, but she also downplayed her own role. None of the Pacers' success over the last 50 years would have been possible without Nancy Leonard.
"From organizing the now-legendary telethon that helped save the team to being a constant presence courtside as a true superfan, her passion for the organization made her beloved by generations of players, alumni and staff," the Simon Family and Pacers Sports & Entertainment said on Tuesday. "She will always be part of the Pacers family and her legacy will continue to shape who we are. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Leonard family and all who were touched by Nancy's remarkable life."