2000s

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The Pacers have had but a single team reach the NBA Finals, the one that lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in 2000. Simple logic, then, would seem to identify it as the best in the franchise's NBA history.

Simple logic, however, tends to ignore the nuances of a story.

The recent documentary on the Chicago Bulls' 1998 championship team, "The Last Dance," served the dual purpose of resurrecting the memory of the Pacers team from that season — at least for their fans. It pushed the Bulls to the absolute limit in the Eastern Conference finals, jumping to a 20-8 lead in Game 7 at the United Center before missed free throws and rebounds cost them a trip to the Finals.

That Pacers team earned the sincere respect of Chicago coach Phil Jackson and his players. Jackson opened his postgame press conference by paying tribute to the Pacers. A relieved Jordan, recorded in the locker room following the game, said, "That's the hardest we've worked in 13 years." And Scottie Pippen put it succinctly in his postgame press conference.

"I can't say that the best team won," he said.

That '98 Pacers team could be the best in the franchise's NBA history. But it also could be the one that reached the Finals two years later. Fate and timing are factors beyond the control of players and coaches and often weigh as heavily in the outcome of games and seasons as raw talent — at all levels.

It's not difficult to find Indiana University basketball fans who consider the 1975 team that lost to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament better than the one that went undefeated and won the national championship in '76. The 1960 Muncie Central High School team is one of the best ever to come out of Indiana — it won its regular season games by an average of 32 points — but suffered its only loss of the season in the final game of the state tournament and therefore isn't remembered among Indiana's legendary high school teams. And imagine how the Butler team of 2010 would be remembered if Gordon Hayward's halfcourt heave at the buzzer of the championship game with Duke had been an inch or two more accurate.

One shot, one injury, one untimely loss, one referee's whistle...all can have a huge impact on a team's place in history. The one that wins the most games in the regular season or advances the furthest in the postseason isn't necessarily the best in its class, but it seems obvious one of these two Pacers teams remain the best in franchise history. The teams that reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004, 2013, and 2014 had superior athleticism and perhaps even superior talent, but lacked the experience and hard-earned maturity of the teams from 1998 and 2000.

But which of those was best? Certainly, it's not an important issue in times such as these but the question is at least timely. The '98 team was revived by the Jordan documentary and we're in the 20-year anniversary of the 2000 team, so parsing them is as good a topic of discussion as any during a pandemic lockdown.

Proponents of the Pacers team that reached the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals over the one that took things a step further in 2000 have plenty of ammunition for their argument.

The '98 team won 58 games, two more than the 2000 team. Once it adjusted to first-year coach Larry Bird and his staff, it practically breezed through the regular season and first two rounds of the playoffs before colliding with the Bulls. The 2000 team, on the other hand, relied on its uncommon experience and cohesion to get through a less joyful regular season. It barely escaped its first-round matchup with Milwaukee, needing a clutch 3-pointer from Travis Best and 41 points from Reggie Miller in the series' ultimate game to avoid elimination on its homecourt. It then defeated Philadelphia and New York, neither of whom were nearly as imposing as Chicago had been in '98, to reach the Finals.

Despite all that, statistical analysis gives an edge to the 2000 team. Here's the breakdown, and here's a spoiler alert, too: there is no obvious answer to this question.

The Pacers teams of 1998 and 2000 had nine players in common: Travis Best, Austin Croshere, Dale Davis, Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller, Derrick McKey, Chris Mullin, Jalen Rose, and Rik Smits.

As for the remainder of the roster, the 2000 team's bench included Sam Perkins, Zan Tabak, Al Harrington, and rookies Jonathan Bender and Jeff Foster. Those five replaced Antonio Davis, Fred Hoiberg, Mark Pope, Mark West, and Etdrick Bohannon from the 1998 team.

Ask the players who filled a roster spot on both teams which was superior, and the results are appropriately mixed.

"I always thought the '98 team was better," Smits says. "I don't remember why, but I recall thinking that way. I was feeling over the hill by the time I retired (after the 2000 playoffs)."

"I think that 2000 team beats that '98 team, all things considered," Best says. "Jalen and myself were better, and Austin Croshere as well."

Rose, who played off the bench in '98, was a starter and the leading scorer in 2000. But he leans toward the superiority of the '98 squad after pausing to think it through.

"The '98 team was better," he says. "You had both Davis brothers and Rik Smits still playing productive. You have Heavy D (McKey), too. That's a throwback frontline. Look at that size, that height."

Jackson, meanwhile, doesn't care to offer an opinion. Doesn't have one, actually.

"I don't think it's fair," he says. "If you told me to name the rosters of both teams, I couldn't do it. They were both great teams and both capable of winning a championship — and should have."

Best, Rose, and Croshere provide the strongest argument for the superiority of the 2000 team, given their significant improvement over the previous two seasons. Croshere, a rookie who was injured and didn't dress for the 1998 playoffs, had become a valuable reserve who brought versatility to the frontline. Best, a third-year backup point guard in 1998, split time with Jackson at point guard in the 2000 playoffs, playing the second and fourth quarters of most games.

Rose who averaged 18.2 points and earned Most Improve Player honors in 2000, represented the only change in the starting lineup from the 1998 team, replacing Mullin at small forward, and averaged nearly seven more points than Mullin had two years earlier.

They weren't the only ones to show improvement, however. Jackson, who was 35 years old by the time the playoffs began in 2000, and Dale Davis (31) also performed better than in '98.

Davis was selected to the All-Star game for the only time in his career in 2000. His greatest improvement came at the foul line. Motivated by his 3-of-10 performance in that Game 7 loss to Chicago in 1998, he hired a shooting coach and reconstructed his shot. He made just .465 of his free throw attempts in 1998 and .685 in 2000. That enabled him to score 59 more points from the foul line in 2000 than in '98, a significant number given all the close games a team plays over the course of the season.

Jackson shot a better percentage in all categories in 2000 than in 1998 and had virtually the same scoring average despite playing 2 1/2 fewer minutes. His efficiency ratio, which measures overall performance, also was slightly improved in 2000.

Comparing Miller's seasons is more complicated. He showed decline during the 2000 regular season, shooting less accurately than in 1998, but performed better in the 2000 postseason than in '98 — and that's the more relevant comparison. He averaged four more points, shot better from the field and had a significantly better efficiency ratio in the 2000 playoffs. He also played the lead role in the close-out game in each of the first three rounds, scoring 41 points against Milwaukee, 25 against Philadelphia, and 34 against New York. He suffered a nightmarish 1-of-16 shooting performance in Game 1 of the Finals against the Lakers but averaged 27.8 points in the remaining five games.

The other three holdovers from the 1998 team showed various degrees of decline in 2000. Smits' ongoing foot problems had been solved but other body parts were breaking down. Playing five fewer minutes per game in 2000 than in '98, his scoring average dropped nearly four points and his shooting percentages slumped as well.

Mullin (36) and McKey (33) also were breaking down physically and would retire after the 2000-01 season, when they played for other teams. Mullin played in just 47 games and averaged 5.1 points in 2000. He had occasional flashes of production, such as in the final regular season road game at Philadelphia when he started for one of only two times that season (Miller and Jackson were given the night off) and scored 21 points while hitting 5-of-8 3-pointers. He wasn't a significant factor in the playoffs, however.

McKey played in just 57 regular season games in 1998 but had enough left to be a significant factor in the playoffs in non-scoring ways. He played in just 32 regular season games two years later and averaged 4.3 points.

So, that's six players in the improved column for the 2000 team and three in the declined category. And while scoring isn't the only measuring stick for a player, the 2000 "remainders" who hadn't played for the Pacers in the 1998 playoffs contributed 3.8 more points per game than the players in '98 who weren't still with the team in 2000.

For many, the comparison of the two teams comes down to Antonio Davis and Sam Perkins. Davis was a valuable reserve in 1998, averaging 9.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in 26.7 minutes. Perkins, 38 years old in 2000, averaged 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds over 20 minutes.

Davis was such a respected player that Pacers general manager Donnie Walsh was able to trade him for the fifth pick in the draft following the 1999 lockout season. Davis went on to have an All-Star season in Toronto and earned a max contract.

Perkins, however, brought another legitimate 3-point threat to the Pacers, which enabled them to keep pace with the league trend. He hit 89 of them in 2000 at a 41 percent clip, and that weapon is one of the major differences between the two teams. The 1998 Pacers ranked ninth in made threes and second in accuracy. The 2000 group ranked first in both categories.

(As an indication of how the league has changed over the past couple of decades, this season's Pacers team averages 27.5 3-point attempts per game, which is still short of coach Nate McMillan's goal of 30. The 2000 team averaged 18.1 attempts. The 1998 team averaged 12.5.)

The 2000 Pacers also were the NBA's best foul-shooting team (they had been sixth in '98) and were a better rebounding team than in '98, although still not a good one. They ranked 20th in total rebounds, seven spots higher than in '98.

Antonio Davis was key piece on the 1998 Pacers team, but his departure from Indiana cleared minutes for emerging young players like Austin Croshere in the 2000 run to the NBA Finals. (Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images)

It's a common argument that Walsh should not have traded Antonio Davis for the draft pick that brought Jonathan Bender before the 1999-2000 season. Davis, obviously, would have contributed more than the teen-aged Bender in the 2000 season, and on the surface it seems his bulk and experience might have helped contain Shaquille O'Neal when the Pacers met the Lakers in the Finals.

O'Neal was at the peak of his career in 2000. He averaged 30.6 points in the Finals and was unstoppable everywhere but the foul line, where he hit just 39 percent of his attempts. Would Antonio Davis have fared any better than Smits, Dale Davis, or Perkins against the agile 325-pound O'Neal?

He would have liked to try, at least. He watched the 2000 Finals on television as a member of the Toronto Raptors, wishing then and still today he had never left the Pacers. He weighed between 240-250 pounds, hardly enough to match O'Neal's bulk and strength, but perhaps he could have fronted O'Neal, made him run the floor, done whatever was necessary to help wear him down.

"I think I could have been a tremendous help," he says. "It wasn't necessarily how much you weigh, because you can't physically try to match up with Shaq. That wasn't my thing. But I know I'm in heckuva good shape and if I can keep a body on you and wear you down so come the fourth quarter we can even the playing field a little bit, then I've got a shot.

"At least that's how I saw it," Davis adds, laughing. "That's what I told myself."

Perkins weighed 10 to 20 more pounds than Antonio Davis and got his turns leaning on O'Neal. Walsh recalls Perkins doing as good a job as anyone with the impossible chore and offers this bottom line to the argument.

The argument for retaining Antonio Davis also ignores the fact the Pacers had a logjam at the "four" position that needed to be addressed. The Davises and Croshere had shared the role in 1999, and all were frustrated enough by their lack of playing time to air gripes publicly. Antonio, remember, asked for a trade after that season so he could become a starter. To bring all three back for another season likely would have only heightened their frustration and damaged team chemistry.

Besides, Croshere and Perkins brought needed versatility to the offense by providing 3-point threats that spread the floor. Croshere averaged 15.2 points and 6 rebounds in the 2000 Finals, setting himself up to be one of the NBA's premier free agents that summer. Would Antonio Davis have contributed more than that? And it's not as if Davis' hypothetical contributions can be added to that 2000 team like bonus stats. If he were playing, Dale Davis and Croshere would have played and contributed less.

"With Dale and Antonio, you had two excellent players but there was a lot of redundancy," Croshere says. "I was significantly different than Antonio and complemented Rik and Dale in a different way."

Perkins did the same, adding a laid-back style of veteran leadership that was readily accepted in the locker room.

"Sam brought a lot to the table," Best says. "He was another guy who could play center, another guy who could knock down the three. He was so professional, so efficient."

Croshere adds another what-if to the mix. The 2000 team might have been better, he says, but perhaps the 1998 team would have been better suited to compete against the Lakers.

The primary advantage of the 1998 Pacers over the 2000 version might lie with intangibles. The '98 team was the first under coach Larry Bird, and spent the season in something resembling honeymoon bliss. The players were thrilled that Bird had come out of retirement to coach them and flourished in his trusting, uplifting approach.

The 1999-2000 season, however, was more of a grind. Bird announced before it began that it would be his last. That and the fact he was coaching his third season with the team removed some of the glow from the romance. That group won 56 games largely because of its superior experience and ingrained cohesion. It seemed in some respects on autopilot.

"I do remember there being some issues at times with the 2000 team," Croshere says.

Which is not to say the culture had turned sour. It just wasn't as great as in '98.

"I was in the NBA for 12 years," Croshere says. "The first three years (with the Pacers) were probably the most professional teams I was part of. By NBA standards that 2000 team had an incredible locker room. Maybe you noticed things here and there, but from the perspective of a 12-year career, that 2000 team was a great one to be part of."

Selecting one of these two teams over the other amounts to acts of extreme deconstruction and analysis. Both were great, both barely fell short of winning a championship, both had admirable intangibles. Arguments and counter arguments can be made all day, in either way.

"I'll tell you the truth," Walsh says. "I know you need something to write about, but I wonder why you're asking me all this."

And perhaps that's the larger point. These two teams provided the peak moments in a seven-year span that began in 1994 in which the Pacers reached the conference finals five times. The core of those teams barely changed in that period, recalling an era vastly unlike today when rosters turn over frequently because of free agency.

"We don't live in that world anymore," Croshere says. "It's a different landscape now. You're going to continue to see great teams, but it's hard to imagine fans can fall in love with a core group of players that will be together for the next six or seven years."

Prefer the 1998 Pacers team? Fine. Like the 2000 team better? OK. Better yet, appreciate the entire collection.

Have a question for Mark? Want it to be on Pacers.com? Email him at askmontieth@gmail.com and you could be featured in his next mailbag.

Mark Montieth's book on the formation and groundbreaking seasons of the Pacers, "Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis," is available in bookstores throughout Indiana and on Amazon.com.

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Indiana Pacers. All opinions expressed by Mark Montieth are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Indiana Pacers, their partners, or sponsors.

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1998 or 2000? What is the Best Pacers Team in NBA Franchise History?

The Pacers' ascent to the 2000 NBA Finals was fueled by three memorable close-out games, each one linked by a similar force of nature: Reggie Miller.

Travis Best's game-winning 3-pointer in Game 5 of the first-round series with Milwaukee on May 4 stands as perhaps the greatest shot in the history of the Pacers' franchise, but it wouldn't have meant anything if Miller hadn't scored 41 points.

The Pacers eliminated Philadelphia in Game 6 of the second round on May 19 behind 25 points from Miller, who had been suspended for Game 5 after throwing a retaliatory punch at Matt Geiger in Game 4.

And then, on June 2, Miller scored 34 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, to deliver a 93-80 victory over New York in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It still ranks as the most meaningful in the Pacers' NBA history — primarily because it sent them to the Finals for the first and still-only time, but also because it came in Madison Square Garden where so many of their best and worst postseason moments had played out amid high drama.

Location was everything in this case. So was timing. There could not possibly have been a better place for the Pacers to win a game that sent them to the Finals than the Garden — not even in their new home, then called Conseco Fieldhouse.

Miller had scored 25 points in the fourth quarter of a playoff game there in 1994, but the Pacers went on to lose that series. He scored eight points in 8.9 seconds in a second-round playoff game there in 1995, but the Pacers lost to Orlando in the conference finals. The Pacers had routinely removed the Knicks from the playoffs in the second round in 1998 but had suffered their worst playoff moment there one year earlier.

Favored by many to win the NBA championship in that lockout-shortened season, they had stumbled badly and controversially in the conference finals. They lost Game 4 in the Garden because of Larry Johnson's infamous four-point play and were eliminated there in Game 6 when the Knicks attempted 24 more foul shots. They had done plenty to self-destruct in the series, but still felt their title chance had been pick-pocketed.

So, to come back a year later and win a game in the Garden to reach the Finals? It was perfect retribution.

Miller brought up the topic with his teammates in their huddle before they took the court.

"If the league called us up and said we'd have one chance to go to the Finals, but you have to win one game and we'll let you pick the venue and the team, where would you want to play? And who would you want to play?" he asked.

The answers were obvious: Madison Square Garden. The Knicks.

Miller knew that better than anyone, of course, He was playing in his 18th — and as fate would have it, last — playoff game in the Garden. His greatest peaks and valleys had come there, and he was going out on top.

The Pacers controlled the first half to take a nine-point lead but faltered badly in the third quarter, when they scored just 12 points. Miller scored eight of them, including a 3-pointer with 25.2 seconds left to regain a tie. Starting over with 12 minutes to go, the Pacers went on to outscore the Knicks 31-18 to win it convincingly. Miller hit three 3-pointers from a similar spot on the right wing to lead the closing sprint. At one point he had scored 17 of his team's previous 25 points.

"Reggie was awesome tonight," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "We went to him a little more as the game went on. It seemed that he got stronger down the stretch."

Miller drew strength from the previous season's nightmare. He had hit just 3-of-18 shots in the Game 6 loss, which he considered a personal embarrassment. He had avoided the trash talk and gestures that had punctuated his earlier games there but learned that mode didn't work for him. He needed some friction to rise to the challenge. So he made it a point to state in a press conference the day before the series began in Indianapolis, one that included New York media members, that he "hated" the Knicks.

Miller wasn't the only Pacer to get heated in the Game 6 victory. Dale Davis had 16 rebounds for the fourth time in the series and limited the previous year's nemesis, Larry Johnson, to 3-of-10 shooting. Travis Best came off the bench to score 10 points, eight in the final period. Mark Jackson had played a major role in getting them off to a good start.

"This is our home away from home, and we've had some great games in here," he said. "What better way to do it than on the road? Game 7 (back in Indianapolis) would have been too much pressure for us, because New York is the type of team that can come in to someone else's court and win. We wanted to end it here. Tonight was our Game 7."

A footnote to the game had occurred earlier in the day, when an article that was to appear in the upcoming issue of ESPN The Magazine was released to the media. Jess Kersey, who had called the foul on Pacers forward Antonio Davis that allowed Johnson's four-point play, admitted he had blown the call.

"I took something away from a team that didn't deserve to have it taken away," Kersey was quoted. "I'll live with that the rest of my life."

Miller took it back. And he can live with that for the rest of his life.

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2000 Was Miller's Finest Madison Square Garden Moment

Wheat Hotchkiss

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The Reggie Years

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Infographic: The Current Decade of Pacers Basketball

It all began with a tweet, from an elite Pacers big man of the previous decade to a rising star of this decade. From Jermaine O'Neal to Myles Turner:

"Let's get some mid post/low post work in when you get back to Dallas this summer," O'Neal tweeted on Feb. 4. "Love the energy you play with. Let me know."

Turner's response was clear, concise and immediate: "Hell yeah!"

It seems like a good idea, right? O'Neal, who returned to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to be honored along with other players of the previous decade on Sunday, was the most skilled post player in franchise history. He had jump hooks with either hand, spin moves that enabled dunks and turnaround jumpers over either shoulder. Basically, just about everything short of a sky hook, which he didn't really need.

That arsenal of scoring weapons was the catalyst for O'Neal to become a six-time All-Star selection, the Pacers player who has placed highest in the voting for league Most Valuable Player (third, in 2004) and a player who once scored 55 points against Milwaukee without hitting a 3-pointer on Jan. 4, 2005. Granted, the Bucks were a bad team at the time, were missing two centers, were at the end of a four-game road trip, and for some odd reason refused to double-team O'Neal, but still … he hit 18-of-28 field goal attempts and 19-of-25 foul shots, all in just 36 minutes while passing up scoring opportunities late in the game against an NBA team.

Imagine if Turner had just a sliver of O'Neal's skill sets with his back to the basket. Turner, at 6-foot-11, is the same height as O'Neal and about 20 pounds heavier, but is more representative of the modern NBA big man. He's most effective facing the basket, all the way out to the 3-point line where he's hitting 34 percent of his attempts. (He was shooting 40.5 percent at the end of January.)

Turner seems somewhat lost whenever he gets the ball close to the basket. He'll either shoot a fading shot or, more often than not, pass out to a teammate on the perimeter. He's recently shown a knack for slick interior passing, but has yet to display anything that could be accurately described as a post move.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: Track the Pacers' Playoff Push »

Which is how O'Neal could help. O'Neal lives about a 15-minute drive from Turner's parents in the Dallas area, so it won't be difficult to get together for private tutoring sessions in the off-season. Both are willing participants. It's unlikely Turner could become as savvy a post-up player as O'Neal had been – they have different physical traits – but Turner obviously could benefit from learning a few skills.

"One of the things (that) was really a game-changer for me was when (former Pacers assistant coach) Mark Aguirre worked with me when I got here," O'Neal said Sunday, before the Pacers played Miami. "There's not a lot of things you have to change about yourself, just a technique that you have to get.

"For a kid who can already shoot the three … now if he gets that mid-range area to the low box area, he becomes un-guardable. That's what makes (Karl-Anthony) Towns and (Joel) Embiid and Anthony Davis so difficult to guard, because they can give you everything from outside to the inside."

Turner's work ethic and desire to improve has never been questioned, so this seems right up his alley, and perhaps even his highway.

"That would be a fun experience," he said on the day O'Neal tweeted his suggestion. "Any chance I can get to learn, I try to do that. He's offering some advice and some workouts, so hopefully that can be arranged."

Turner also could consult one of the NBA's most skilled post-up players from across the locker room. Al Jefferson, whose back-to-the-basket moves have kept him in the league for 13 seasons, has worked with Turner on occasion, mostly in the pre-season, but they have not kept it up. Jefferson, the master of the drop step when defenders try to prevent him from shooting a jump hook, says such nuances can come later for Turner.

"This is my thing with Myles," Jefferson said. "Myles' game is perfect for what the NBA wants from a big man now. His game is perfect for that. Pick and pop. Iso. I'm not trying to put the post move in his game right now. When you get six, seven, eight, nine years in the league … look at Kobe (Bryant) when he started posting, Michael (Jordan) when he started posting … when they got older, they started posting.

"I think the post move for Myles should be later on in his career. Don't get it twisted, he'll get opportunities. I tell him, sometimes it's flat-out disrespectful the (shorter) guys they feel they can put on you when you're in the post. To me, there are times he needs to take advantage of that. But as for full-out post moves, that's for later on in his career. But that doesn't mean he can't work on it and get better at it."

Pacers coach Nate McMillan is in favor. He said Turner works on post-up moves before some practices – he calls such skill-building sessions "vitamins" – and assistant coach Bill Bayno was seen working with Turner after a recent practice. He's not about to order Turner to the low block and start running the offense through him, as previous Pacers teams have done for Mel Daniels, Rik Smits and O'Neal, but he would appreciate having that option to add to the halfcourt offense.

"He's drifting farther and farther away from the basket," McMillan said earlier this season. "I think he has the ability to play both inside and out. We don't want him to take that option away. I'd prefer him to look for more post-ups and not be so predictable and become a pick and pop center. Against the bigger guys I think he can stretch the floor, but some of these guys, he should be able to establish himself in the post."

Turner turns 21 on March 24, so he's often fighting boy-against-man battles around the basket. It's no wonder he prefers to float to the perimeter and shoot jump shots, and the Pacers' offense is designed for him to do just that much of the time. His ability to draw opposing centers away from the basket is an asset that creates an open lane for teammates to penetrate and enhances opportunities for offensive rebounds.

Still, as he gets older and stronger and wiser, he should have a wider variety of scoring options.

"He's still in his young man's body, and going down and taking that pounding, guys shy away from that," McMillan said. "It's something we have to be patient with, but it's going to help us be a really good team when he develops that part of his game."

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Jermaine O'Neal Ready to Help Grow Turner's Game

The Lakers' practice on the Bankers Life Fieldhouse practice court had just ended with structured shooting drills, to the accompaniment of Al Green's music, when Metta World Peace rushed out a back door.

He was on a mission. Racing upstairs, along familiar paths, he headed straight for the offices of Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird. After a few minutes of how-are-you-good-to-see-you greetings and casual small talk, he returned to rejoin his Laker teammates.

That was on Oct. 31, the day before the Lakers met the Pacers in the second week of the NBA season, but it just as easily could have been any other time. Last fall, last year, even a dozen years ago, when the wounds of World Peace's discordant departure from the Pacers were still fresh, the respect he has for Walsh and Bird, and they for him, has remained the same.

The same could be said for nearly everyone else associated with the franchise during the stretch of 219 regular season and playoff games the player formerly known as Ron Artest played for it. Comb through the various departments of Pacers Sports and Entertainment, and you would be challenged to find anyone who knew Artest (and he will remain "Artest" for the remainder of this story, because that's how he's still known to everyone in Indianapolis) who doesn't have affection for him, despite the flowing stream of headaches he brought to the franchise in the form of private disruptions and public suspensions.

"He's a sweet guy," said Walsh, the man who ultimately had to trade Artest when the headaches became too much to bear. "That's what he is. I say that and I know half the people will think I'm nuts. But I stick by it."

The Pacers will honor the first decade of the 2000s on March 12, when they play Miami at The Fieldhouse. No player represents the highs and lows of that era better than Artest, who arrived as part of a seven-player deal with Chicago on Feb. 19, 2002 and departed on Jan. 25, 2006 in a trade to Sacramento for Peja Stojakovic – an exit he had requested back on Dec. 8.

2000s CENTRAL: Remember the Decade at Pacers.com/2000s »

He's still playing, on and off the Lakers' active roster at age 37, kept around as a mentor as much as anything. That's right, a mentor. And an example.

"He brings professionalism, he brings an unselfishness that I think we need," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "He stays after practice and gets work in. He has a great relationship with the young guys, and I still feel confident he can help us win if we need him. He's a constant in practice that makes us a stronger team."

Artest has played for six teams, and some of his seasons have been reduced to fragments, but he's still standing as a direct refute to all those people who thought he would wash out of the NBA a long time ago. His greatest moment came as a starter on the Lakers' championship team in 2010, but his greatest performances came with the Pacers.

A first-round pick by Chicago in 1999, he was included in the trade in which the Pacers sent Jalen Rose, Travis Best and Norm Richardson to the Bulls almost as a throw-in. That deal was made primarily to acquire a legitimate center, Brad Miller. Artest, though, put on some eye-popping displays of his complete skill-set almost immediately, such as in a Sunday afternoon game against Miami when he finished with 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, nine rebounds, nine assists and eight steals.

"He brings a different dimension that we haven't seen the likes of," Reggie Miller said after that game.

In more ways than Miller could have imagined, it turned out.

Artest's peak season came in 2003-04. The Pacers won a franchise-record 61 games and reached the Eastern Conference Finals, while he was voted an All-Star and became the first player in franchise history to win Defensive Player of the Year honors. He locked down opponents like no Pacers player — and perhaps no player period — had ever done that season, striking what often looked like literal fear into the hearts of some of the NBA's greatest offensive players — all while scoring 18 points a game.

That Pacers team was stacked. Jermaine O'Neal was an All-Star for the third consecutive year and finished third in the league MVP voting. Al Harrington, who backed up Artest, was runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year. Reggie Miller was 38 years old, but still hitting 40 percent of his 3-point shots and offering adult-in-the-room leadership. Jamaal Tinsley was one of the league's best passers and has improved his 3-point shooting to 37 percent. Jonathan Bender, former fifth pick in the draft, was emerging, averaging seven points and showing startling potential. Jeff Foster, Scott Pollard, Anthony Johnson and Fred Jones were good enough to start for some teams, and either had or would.

"Our practices were amazing," Artest said. "I was still very disruptive in practice, but as far as getting better and the intensity...I've never been on a team that had practices like that. It was war at every practice."

PACERS VOTE: Pick Your Starting Five from the 2000s »

The following season began with even more promise. The young players had another year of maturity and Stephen Jackson, who had started on San Antonio's championship team two years earlier, was added to the mix. Miller and Johnson were injured in the preseason, but that was OK. There was plenty of depth to pick up the slack. Artest outplayed LeBron James in the season opener at Cleveland on Nov. 3, 2004, a game the Pacers won in overtime despite the absence of the injured Jermaine O'Neal. Artest finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and one turnover in 50 minutes. James, entering his second NBA season, had 28 points on 8-of-19 shooting, five rebounds, eight assists and six turnovers.

Undeniably, however, his time with the Pacers is mostly remembered for that historic franchise-turning night at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Nov. 19, 2004 when he responded to a fan tossing a beverage at him by going into the stands to confront the (wrong) man. He was suspended by commissioner David Stern for the rest of the season, ruining the legitimate championship dream of a team that had taken eventual champion Detroit to six games in the conference finals the previous season.

Walsh and Bird stuck with him yet again and welcomed him back the following season, but were rewarded with an out-of-the-blue trade demand in December that became the last straw in a tilting haystack of controversies.

Artest, who played in 16 games that season, says the trade demand was the result of a strange brew of emotions left over from that November night in Auburn Hills.

"Oh, man," he said. "Nervousness. I did not want to go back to Detroit. It was out of fear of going back to Detroit. That, along with...I just didn't know how to get along with people. I didn't know how to get along with my teammates, you know? They were going out on the road and I'd stay in my hotel room. I didn't even go out to eat with them.

"I was having a bad time emotionally, spiritually at that time. I was in a bad place."

Artest has never apologized to Walsh and Bird, but his feelings are obvious in his words and actions, and that's good enough for them. He can't think about the teams he played with here without thinking about the lost opportunity. That's why he brought up the Pacers when addressing the media after the Lakers clinched the 2010 championship.

"We were supposed to win a ring together," he said. "Everything revolved around me, because I was unstable.

"That's what I feel bad about to this day. That's something I can never, ever forgive myself for. It's something I have to recognize. We were on our way. Donnie put a helluva team together. I wanted to win a championship here. That was a big thing to me. And to Reggie. At my most unstable point, it was the end of Reggie's career. So, that's really ------ up."

The Pacers tried to help Artest, whose instability showed mostly in displays of temper, by arranging private counseling for him, at one point flying him to Texas for sessions. After winning the title with the Lakers, he publicly acknowledged receiving professional help, and later auctioned off his championship ring to raise money for mental health awareness. He remains grateful to Walsh for that.

"He started me down that path," Artest said. "That's why I respect him. I just feel so much for that man, because he was taking care of me. You know what I'm saying? When I wasn't stable."

Artest describes Walsh as an uncle figure. He saw Bird, meanwhile, as a "straight-up friend," one who remained loyal to him and tried to help him with his game. Bird, who took over the team presidency from Walsh in 2003, posed with Artest on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, a show of support that backfired, but he never turned on Artest, and has never said a bad word about him.

Artest recalls those summer days while he was with the Pacers when he would show up at The Fieldhouse practice court to work on his game. Bird often came down to talk and offer pointers, some of which Artest passes along to his sons now. They occasionally talked about other things, but mostly it was just basketball — details, such as how to come off a screen, how to maintain your balance when shooting.

"I learned a lot from a legend," Artest said.

Bird downplays his role, but has no regrets. He did what he could to help him, it didn't work out, and everyone moved on.

"I always liked Ronnie," Bird said. "I never understood a lot of the things that went on, but I didn't grow up like Ronnie did. I didn't know what he was thinking. But I also was very disappointed in some of the things he did."

That about sums it up, for both Bird and Walsh. They understood how growing up in a large family in a one-bedroom apartment in a dangerous section of Queensbridge could affect a kid, understood there might be genetic factors at work, understood there was a lovable child inside the macho man. There's a reason they both call him "Ronnie." They also know the risk that goes with every second chance, every act of forgiveness, but it was all done for the benefit of helping Artest and helping a contending team win a championship.

Besides, he was one helluva player at his peak, and they were in the business of getting and helping helluva players. He also is the kind of guy you have to know to appreciate, and they got to know him.

"It's almost impossible to tell people what Ronnie's really like," Walsh said. "They want to picture him as this guy who goes around beating everybody up, but he's really the opposite of that.

"People don't remember how hard that guy played. He played harder than anybody in the league, by a lot."

That obviously appealed to Bird, who saw Artest as a throwback to another era.

"Some people thought Ronnie fought everybody every day in practice, but Ronnie was never like that," Bird said. "He did some things to irritate guys, but he wasn't out here trying to fight guys. He played hard when he played. He had his moments where some days he would come in and for some reason wasn't into it, but … once you got him here and got going, he would never leave. But he was never a guy who got in scuffles or things like that.

"If he had played when I was in the league, that was all part of the game."

Artest sold his house in Zionsville, on North Michigan Rd., just last summer. He says he kept it in case he ever returned to play for the Pacers, something he hoped to do. He knows that won't happen now. He also knows he'll have to retire soon. He would like to hang on for another year or two as a player, but is ready to move on when necessary.

If that sounds crazy, try to remember if at any time during the previous decade you thought Artest would still be playing in the NBA today. At age 37. Under a different name. As a mentor to younger players.

You just never know what a man's future might bring.

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Artest Has New Name, New Perspective on Time with Pacers

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Infographic: The 2000s - Relive the Decade of Pacers Basketball

Danny Granger was never supposed to play for the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers had the 17th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. They had Granger come to Indianapolis for a pre-draft workout, but hardly harbored any illusions that they would be able to get him without trading up in the draft.

A 6-8 swingman out of New Mexico with eye-popping athleticism and an NBA-ready body, Granger steadily rose up draft boards that spring. He seemed a lock to go in the lottery. ESPN draft expert Chad Ford's final rankings before the draft listed Granger as the fifth-best prospect in the 2005 class. NBADraft.net had him going seventh to Toronto.

But a funny thing happened on draft night. Fueled in part by concerns over a knee injury from college, Granger unexpectedly slid down the draft as team after team passed on him.

Somehow, someway, when NBA Commissioner David Stern stepped to the podium to announce that Indiana was now on the clock, Granger was still on the board.

"When Granger came down to us, we were amazed," then-head coach Rick Carlisle said on draft night. "He was the one guy everybody in the draft room thought would be a terrific pick and ready to help us right now."

As the Pacers' first draft pick following Reggie Miller's retirement, Granger quickly assumed the mantle as the new face of the franchise. He was the one constant during an era dominated by roster overhaul and rebuilding.

After emerging as one of the most gifted scorers in franchise history, it was Granger who guided Indiana out of the wilderness and back into the Promised Land of the playoffs.

And while injuries robbed him of the opportunity to enjoy the greatest fruits of his labors (and ultimately ended his career), Granger gracefully handed over the reins to Paul George, remaining a key mentor for George as he blossomed into the next star Pacers swingman.

Highlights: Danny Granger's Prolific Pacers CareerCheck out these highlights of Pacers forward Danny Granger. Granger, an All-Star and the NBA's Most Improved Player in 2009, will be honored with a bobblehead at Sunday's Decade Game.

Granger joined the Pacers in a period of transition. Miller called it quits on an 18-year career after the 2004-05 season, which ended with a loss to the Pistons in the second round of the playoffs.

The team celebrated the start of a new era by unveiling new uniforms for Granger's rookie season, replacing the pinstriped jerseys with the subtler current design.

Despite returning most of the core of players that had won 61 games two seasons prior, the 2005-06 season did not go as Pacers fans envisioned. Ron Artest demanded a trade in December and was shipped to Sacramento on Jan. 25 for Peja Stojakovic. Injuries plagued other stars, with Jermaine O'Neal missing 31 games and Jamaal Tinsley sitting out 40 contests.

Indiana finished the season 41-41, losing in six games to the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the playoffs. The team would not return to the postseason for another five years, as Larry Bird reshaped the roster over the next several seasons with a series of trades and acquisitions.

Over the next two years, Indiana parted ways with Austin Croshere, Anthony Johnson, Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, O'Neal, and Tinsley, among others. Quicker than he ever expected, Granger became the focal point of the Pacers' offense.

He quickly blossomed into a bona fide star.

He chose the number 33 because he idolized Scottie Pippen growing up, and Granger's all-around game shared many similarities with the six-time NBA champion. He could rebound well for his position and could be a menace defensively, whether it was blocking shots at the rim or smothering guards on the perimeter.

But above all else, Granger could score. Whether he was running the floor in transition, posting up on the block, or spotting up from beyond the 3-point arc, Granger had a special gift when it came to putting the ball in the basket.

His scoring average increased from 7.5 points per game as a rookie to 13.9 in his second year to 19.6 in his third and, finally, to 25.8 in the 2008-09 season. That kind of improvement was entirely unprecedented — he was the first player in NBA history to increase his scoring average by over five points in three straight seasons.

While the Pacers did not have the overall talent to contend during those years, Granger kept them relevant, capable of carrying them to victory on any given night.

Perhaps the best story about the Danny Granger era came at the start of the 2008-09 season. Granger agreed to a five-year, $60 million extension on Nov. 1. The next day, the Pacers hosted the defending champion Boston Celtics at The Fieldhouse for the team's home opener.

With Granger leading the way, the Pacers dominated the defending champs. Indiana led by 16 points with under 10 minutes to play, when Granger picked up Celtics All-Star Paul Pierce well beyond the 3-point line.

Granger poked the ball free from Pierce with his left hand, causing the ball to bound back towards the half-court line. Granger flung himself after the ball, but Pierce fell on top of him, driving the Pacers star's face directly into the hardwood.

When Granger got back up, he flashed a smile at head coach Jim O'Brien, revealing that he had lost his two front teeth in the collision. He headed to he bench, popped in a mouthguard, and immediately returned the floor, ultimately finishing with a game-high 20 points in a 95-79 victory.

"Losing his teeth when we're up by 16 just shows the commitment he has, and the commitment everybody else has to have, to make this climb back up the mountain," long-time Pacers forward Jeff Foster marveled after the game.

#TBT: Granger Loses His TeethNov. 2, 2008 - One day after signing a major contract extension, Pacers forward Danny Granger lost his two front teeth diving for a loose ball against Paul Pierce in a 95-79 win over the defending champion Celtics.

It was a symbolic start to what would ultimately be a historic season for Granger. He finished the year fifth in the NBA in scoring (25.8 points per game) while also amassing 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.4 blocks per contest. Granger carried a heavy offensive load with remarkable efficiency, posting a .447 field-goal percentage, .404 3-point percentage, and .878 free throw percentage.

He was chosen to his only All-Star team during that season and at the conclusion of the year was voted as the NBA's Most Improved Player.

You could make a strong argument that Granger's 2008-09 season was the greatest individual offensive season in franchise history. He became the only Pacers player and just the 12th in NBA history to average over 25 points per game while also shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range (four players have since joined that club: Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Stephen Curry).

But the Pacers' rebuild would take a couple more years. Bird slowly added pieces around Granger, acquiring center Roy Hibbert on a draft night trade in 2008, then taking Tyler Hansbrough in the first round in 2009.

In the summer of 2010, Granger made perhaps his greatest lasting contribution to the franchise, advising Bird to draft George with the 10th overall pick. Granger and George shared an agent, Aaron Mintz, and worked out together in Los Angeles during the pre-draft process.

Bird called Granger shortly before the draft to get his opinion of George.

"I said, 'You better draft him,'" Granger recalled. "Just from what I saw in the workouts, I knew he was special."

With George in tow, the Pacers returned to the playoffs in the 2010-11 season. They lost to the top-seeded Bulls in five games in the first round, but it was clear that the franchise was on the rise.

Granger led the team in scoring for a fourth straight season and also was the team's top scorer in each of their postseason contests. But it was his leadership off the court — be it throwing his support behind interim coach Frank Vogel, who took over after O'Brien was relieved of his duties midway through the season, or offering advice and encouragement to younger players like George and Hibbert — that left the biggest impression.

"Danny was a huge mentor for me," George recalled.

"I just cherished those moments of being around him and training with an All-Star. He immediately took me under his wing from day one and was kind of showing me the ropes, teaching me how to be a professional. Really, it was him that pushed me to the limits."

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