It s a pity that the Pacers haven t won the championship this year. There is no championship in the team history and it has entered the finals twice.

On June 27, the Indiana Pacers once again missed the championship, and the 2024-2025 season ended in the smoke of the Eastern Conference Finals. This team, known for its blue-collar spirit, has always been wandering between glory and regret since joining the NBA in 1976. When the scene of Tyreth Halliburton kneeling on one knee when the final whistle spread throughout the United States, people can't help but think of that similar summer 47 years ago - when the 1977 Finals lost to the Trail Blazers led by Bill Walton, legendary shooter Billy Knight also bid farewell to the championship dream in this way.

Retracing the Pacers' team history gallery, the two finals experiences are like footnotes deliberately marked by fate. In 2000, the iron-blooded army carried by Reggie Miller fought six games under the shadow of the Los Angeles Lakers "OK combination". Before the final game of G4, Miller pushed Jordan Famal to hit a desperate three-pointer and is still a playoff classic, but Shaquille O'Neal's terrifying dominance averaged 38 points and 16.7 rebounds, ultimately frozen the Indianaman's first finals journey on the scoreboard 2-4. The speech of then-head coach Larry Bird in the locker room was recorded in the team history: "We lost to historical talent, but did not lose dignity. "

The journey of this season was originally highly expected. Halliburton's transformation is obvious to all. His average of 21.8 points and 11.6 assists per game in the regular season has made him among the MVP discussions. G3, which played against the Hawks in the first round of the playoffs, scored an epic data of 37 points and 16 assists. Myers Turner's defensive coverage reached the peak of his career, and new player Pascal Siakam perfectly filled the gap in the striker. Under the Carlisle coach's system, the team scored the league's third offensive efficiency and fifth defensive counterattack score. In the seven-game battle with the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Aaron Nesmith's three-pointer in the corner at the last moment almost threw Madison Square Garden into silence.

But fate always shows cruelty at critical moments. In the Eastern Conference Finals, a kind of ominous premonition began to spread when Derek White finished the tip-off 0.3 seconds before the final game of G1. Although Halliburton G3 used 14 assists in a single game to revitalize the team, Jaylen Brown's death entanglement caused him to make 7 mistakes in the key G6. What's even more fatal is that Turner's ankle injury worsened later in the series, causing the Celtics to take it in the inside. The data reveals the cruel reality: when the Pacers hit less than 35% of their three-point shooting percentage, the season's record was a bleak 7 wins and 18 losses, while their long shots were exactly 34.7% in the four games after the Eastern Conference Finals.

This kind of regret has long been precedent in team history. In the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals G5, Reggie Miller's famous "8 seconds and 8 minutes" miracle defeated the Knicks, but was blocked by Patrick Ewing's victory in the tiebreak. In the 1998 Eastern Conference Final G4, Miller pushed Jordan to make a sure-fire kill, the Chicagoan completed his revenge with a more cruel tiebreak victory. Donnie Walsh, the current team adviser, once admitted: "We are always creating legendary moments, but rarely becoming legends themselves." This trait has come true again this season - they won 7 wins and 1 loss in the regular season overtime, but lost 3 key goals and decisive moments in the finals of the playoffs.

From the perspective of team building philosophy, the pacers' dilemma is a certain necessity. Unlike the superstar strategies of giants such as the Lakers and Celtics, Indiana has always adhered to the "team first" team building concept. Among the core lineups that won the championship in the 1973 ABA, Roger Brown, Mel Daniels and others were all "defective products" abandoned by the NBA. After the Auburn Mountain Palace incident in 2004, the iron-blooded lineup led by O'Neal Jr. and Artest was expected to win the championship, but was seriously injured due to the suspension. Current President Kevin Prichard admitted: "We believe that cultivating is greater than trading, which requires more patience. "

This culture shapes a unique team personality. Among the retired jerseys hanging over the Conseco Arena, the story of Reggie Miller's 18 years of persistence is the most touching. When Paul George broke his leg seriously injured in 2013, the team still received a maximum salary renewal. When trading in Kam in the mid-season this season, the management deliberately retained young core members such as Mathering and Isaiah Jackson. This loyalty is exchanged for the lowest turnover rate of players in the league, with only seven people leaving the team in the past five years. The metaphor of Chad Buchanan, president of basketball operations, is quite exquisite: "We are grinding diamonds instead of frequently changing the raw stones. "

The paradox of competitive sports is that pure spiritual power is often hard to defeat talent. At the 1997 draft, the Pacers missed Tracy McGrady with the 10th pick; when George was selected in 2010, experts generally believed that he was just Granger's substitute; even missing Donovan Mitchell's choice in 2017 is still a hot topic in the local media. This season's finals against the Mavericks' Celtics, there are 3 Tanhua Show and 2 All-Stars starters in the team. This talent is exactly what the Pacers lack.

But the fire of hope has never been extinguished. Halliburton, 25, has been selected into the All-A-Level 3 team, and Mathering, 22, has shown his super sixth man potential in the playoffs, not to mention Devin Carter, who just won the lottery pick in the draft. Coach Carlisle's contract will continue until 2027, and his "dynamic space" system is gradually maturing. Anonymous commented: "They are only one healthy season and a little luck away from the championship." This evaluation is exactly the same as the public opinion before the Pistons won the championship in 2004.

Perhaps the real dilemma for walkers lies in the dislocation of time and space. When Miller encountered the Jordan dynasty at his peak, when George met the Heat's three giants in his golden years, Halliburton now faced the encirclement of new generations of powerful men such as Tatum and Antetokounmpo. But as the team's legend Mark Jackson said: "Indiana never believes in shortcuts, our championship will eventually come from persistence." Today, as the NBA is increasingly utilitarian, this persistence with the spirit of the Midwest cowboy has itself formed a moving sports narrative.. When the new season training camp begins, the team wearing dark blue jerseys will still start with the most basic pick-and-roll tactics - as they have been doing every day for 48 years.