The Indiana Pacers started the 2010s off shaky as they finished the 2010-11 seasons barely sneaking into the playoffs as the eighth seed. They proceeded to lose to the Chicago Bulls in five games. The Pacers’ all-decade team receives a major boost over the course of the next three seasons when they were a top-three seed in the East each year. Unfortunately for them, they ran into the LeBron James led Miami Heat each year.
The Pacers missed the playoffs in the 2014-15 seasons as that was the year Paul George suffered a gruesome leg injury over the summer with Team USA basketball.
The Pacers have since made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons and were well on their way this season until the COVID-19 suspension.
Best Indiana Pacers from the 2010s
Indiana Pacers All-Decade Team – Starters
Guard – George Hill
Former Pacers point guard George Hill may be best known for the guy they traded Kawhi Leonard on draft night of 2011. Despite that, he was still a very good player on some very good Pacers teams.
Hill was the head of the snake for Indiana during their best stretch of the 2010s. To go with his fantastic defense, the 14-year pro was a very solid all-around piece. In five seasons in Indiana, Hill started 270 games. He had per-game averages of 12.3 points, 3.9 assists, and 3.7 rebounds.
Guard – Victor Oladipo
Considered the centerpiece of the George trade, Victor Oladipo has certainly exceeded expectations thus far. The NBA world had declared this a major lopsided trade when it was finalized but Oladipo is trying to squash those discussions.
It was immediately apparent that he took a leap into the top echelon of NBA players immediately upon his arrival in Indiana. In his first season with the Pacers, he averaged a career-high 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. He also helped lead a Pacers team, one in which nobody expected to make the playoffs, to the fifth seed. They gave the Cleveland Cavaliers everything they had and nearly eliminated them in the first round, falling in seven games.
A devasting leg injury in January of 2019 cost Oladipo the remainder of the 2018-19 season and all but 13 games of the currently suspended 2019-20 season. Despite the injury, Oladipo has made two All-Star teams in three seasons and has per-game averages of 20.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists.
Forward – Paul George
George is without a doubt the best player of the 2010s in Indiana. A virtual unknown out of Fresno State University, George burst onto the scene in the 2012-13 season. He ended up with his first of four All-Star bids as a Pacer that season and went head-to-head with James and the Miami Heat in the 2013 playoffs. The Pacers lost in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals that season to Miami.
Despite his gruesome leg injury in the summer of 2014, George returned to form in the 2015-16 season and was again an All-Star. Unfortunately for the Pacers, the marriage with George didn’t last much longer as he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the summer of 2017.
George carried per-game averages as a Pacer of 18.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. In seven seasons with the Pacers, he was a four-time All-Star, the 2012-13 NBA Most Improved Player, a three-time All-NBA Defensive team selection, and a three-time All-NBA selection.
Forward – David West
David West was the ultimate leader and competitor during his NBA career. With the Pacers, he was the team’s second-best player behind George, during their glory days of the decade. Coinciding with George’s best season in Indiana, the 2012-13 season, was West’s best season with the franchise.
That year, he averaged 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds and seemed automatic when popping to the elbow for a jumper. Throughout the course of four years in Indiana, West averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds.
Center – Roy Hibbert
While the enormous Roy Hibbert often left fans wanting a little more, he had a very solid NBA career. Hibbert was always a solid starting big-man in the NBA until the 2013 playoffs in which he became the force that everyone expected.
Throughout that playoff run, in which the Pacers came up a game short of the NBA Finals, Hibbert averaged 17 points, 9.9 rebounds, and he always seemed to come up with an enormous blocked shot.
The 2013-14 All-NBA Defensive team selection unfortunately never built on that momentum as his numbers the next season remained on par with what he had done through his solid career. In seven seasons in Indiana, Hibbert had per-game averages of 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks.
Indiana Pacers All-Decade Team – Bench
Guard – Lance Stephenson
Perhaps the best character on the Indiana Pacers all-decade team, Lance Stephenson had his share of playoff moments with the Heat. Despite his sometimes crazy antics, Stephenson was a vital piece on those conference finals teams.
His defense and playmaking were vital when George would be taking a rest and he made some monster shots in the playoffs.
Stephenson played five seasons in Indiana during his first stint and returned for the 2017-18 season. Over the course of those six seasons, he averaged 9.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.
Forward – Danny Granger
Pacers veteran Danny Granger had a short peak during his career but it was a high peak from a scoring standpoint. Although his best season came pre-2010, he had three really high scoring seasons this decade. He averaged 24.1 points-per-game in the 2009-10 season, 20.5 points in the 2010-11 season, and 18.7 points during the 2011-12 season.
Granger was on track to be an all-timer in Indiana and have his jersey hung in the rafters until his knees betrayed him during the 2011-12 season. Following that season, he was never the same and never averaged double-figure scoring again.
Forward – Bojan Bogdanovic
European forward Bojan Bogdanovic only played two seasons in Indiana but they were highly productive. Bogdanovic was the biggest reason the Pacers made the playoffs in the 2018-19 season when Oladipo suffered a season-ending injury.
As the number one option for much of that season, Bogdanovic averaged 18 points and 4.1 rebounds on a very impressive 49.7 percent shooting.
Over the course of his two seasons with the franchise, he averaged 16.1 points and 3.7 rebounds.
Forward – Domantas Sabonis
The other piece in the George trade with the Thunder has turned out to be a star in his third season with Indiana. Domantas Sabonis and his NBA bloodlines has been phenomenal this season and was named an All-Star.
Sabonis has the same skill that his father, Arvydas Sabonis, did when he played. The younger Sabonis can score from all three levels, he can rebound, and he passes the ball very well. During his third season with Indiana, he is posting career highs across the board as he is averaging 18.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 5 assists per contest.
Center – Myles Turner
The bench center for the Indiana Pacers all-decade team is a lot like the starting center from the team. Myles Turner, despite his solid play, continues to leave Pacers fans wanting just a little bit more as they continue to wait for him to breakout.
The former first-round pick out of the University of Texas is a fantastic shot blocker as he has averaged 2.1 blocks per game for his career thus far. It remains to be seen whether he can have a breakout year but he is still just 23 years old.
Over the course of his five seasons in the NBA, Turner is averaging 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks.
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