1993–94 Indiana Pacers season

The 1993–94 NBA season was the Pacers' 18th season in the National Basketball Association, and 27th season as a franchise.^[1] The Pacers would undergo several changes as the club hired Larry Brown as head coach,^[2][3][4] acquired Derrick McKey from the Seattle SuperSonics,^[5][6][7][8] and signed free agent Haywoode Workman in the off-season.^[9] In December, the team signed free agent Byron Scott, who won championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s.^[10][11][12] The Pacers got off to a rough start losing six of their first seven games, then later lost five straight in December leading to a 10–16 start. However, the team posted a 7-game winning streak between January and February, holding a 23–23 record at the All-Star break,^[13] and would play .500 ball until April. By winning their final eight games of the season, the Pacers were able to grab the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference and close out the season with a 47–35 record, fourth in the Central Division.^[14]

Reggie Miller led the team in scoring with 19.9 points per game, while Rik Smits provided the team with 15.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, and McKey averaged 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. In addition, Dale Davis provided with 11.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, while Scott contributed 10.4 points per game off the bench as the team's sixth man, Workman provided with 7.7 points and 6.2 assists per game, and rookie forward Antonio Davis averaged 7.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game off the bench.^[15] Pooh Richardson contributed 10.0 points and 6.4 assists per game, but only played just 37 games due to a shoulder injury.^[16][17]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Pacers swept the 4th-seeded Orlando Magic in three straight games for their first ever playoff series win since joining the NBA.^{[18][19][20][21]} The Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, and upset the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in six games to reach the Eastern Conference finals.^{[22][23][24][25]} The Pacers were challenging the heavily favored New York Knicks. The Pacers dropped the first two games in New York. Upon arriving in Indiana, the Pacers were able to win the next two games.^[26] In Game 5, Miller scored 25 points in the 4th quarter. In the process, Miller mocked Knicks fan and film director Spike Lee.^{[27][28][29][30][9]} The Pacers returned to Indiana for Game 6 with the opportunity to win the Eastern Conference Title. The Pacers would end up losing Game 6, and were forced to return to Madison Square Garden for Game 7. With the home court advantage, the Knicks would eliminate the Pacers.^{[31][32][33][34]} The Knicks would reach the NBA Finals, but would lose in seven games to the Houston Rockets.^{[35][36][37][38][39]}

Following the season, Richardson and second-year guard Malik Sealy, who both did not play in the postseason due to injuries, were both traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.^[40][41][42]

Offseason

NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	14	Scott Haskin	C	United States	Oregon St.
2	39	Thomas Hill	SG/SF	United States	Duke
2	51	Spencer Dunkley	C	England	Delaware

Roster

1993–94 Indiana Pacers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 12 Conner, Lester 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1959–09–17 Oregon State F 33 Davis, Antonio 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1968–10–31 UTEP F 32 Davis, Dale 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–03–25 Clemson G 10 Fleming, Vern 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1962–02–04 Georgia C 43 Haskin, Scott 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1970–09–19 Oregon State F 9 McKey, Derrick 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1966–10–10 Alabama G 31 Miller, Reggie (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1965–08–24 UCLA F 5 Mitchell, Sam 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1963–09–02 Mercer F 23 Paddio, Gerald 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1965–04–21 UNLV G 24 Richardson, Pooh  6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–05–14 UCLA G 4 Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1961–03–28 Arizona State G 21 Sealy, Malik  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–02–01 St. John's C 45 Smits, Rik 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1966–08–23 Marist C 41 Thompson, LaSalle 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1961–06–23 Texas F 44 Williams, Kenny 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1969–06–09 Elizabeth City State G 3 Workman, Haywoode 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–01–23 Oral Roberts	Head coach Larry Brown Assistant coach(es) Bill Blair Gar Heard George Irvine Billy King Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: {{{access-date}}}

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Player Statistics Citation:^[15]

Awards and records

Transactions

References

• Pacers on Basketball Reference