The five best seasons of a shooting guard in the history of the Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers’ best player in franchise history was a shooting guard, and that position has featured plenty of strong talent in the blue and gold team’s past. They were blessed with talent in the backcourt alongside their point guards.

Reggie Miller is one of the 50 best players in NBA history and had several incredible seasons for the Blue and Gold. But which season was Miller’s best? And which other shooting guards have dominated in Pacers history? The five best seasons by a Pacers player at that position answer those questions.

5: Reggie Miller in 1999-2000

Miller had several fantastic seasons for the Pacers. He spent his entire career with the franchise and many of the best seasons by an Indiana team were Miller’s. He changed the course of history for the Pacers.

In 2000, the Pacers made their only trip to the NBA Finals to date. Miller was selected to the All-Star team and finished 13th in MVP voting that year after averaging 18.1 points per game during the regular season. His long-range shooting was dominant during the era.

Indiana was buzzing in the postseason, and Miller was a big part of that. He averaged 24 points per game in 22 games, although the Pacers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. While that season wasn’t Miller’s best regular season, it was perhaps his best collective postseason performance and was accompanied by team success, making it a top-five season overall.

4: Billy Knight 1976-77

Knight was Indiana’s shooting guard in the Pacers’ first NBA season and he was great. The ABA star was immediately one of the NBA’s best players and top scorers.

The Pennsylvania native averaged 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He was an All-Star in his first season in the NBA and shot 49.3% from the field. Knight was an all-around guard for the Blue and Gold.

Knight was the NBA’s second-leading scorer, averaging more points per game than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1976-77. He was electrifying in many ways and helped the Pacers get off to a good start in the NBA.

3: Victor Oladipo in the 2017/18 season

Oladipo gave it his all in his best season in Indiana. The Maryland native was traded to the Pacers before the 2017-18 season and immediately became the face of the franchise.

With more opportunities, Oladipo scored a career-high 23.1 points per game. He made key shots every night and hit threes at a decent rate. He grabbed over five rebounds a night and dished out more than four assists.

He was a threat on defense, often shutting down opponents and leading the league in steals. For a player who was never more than a top-tier rotation player, Oladipo had a remarkable 2017-18 season.

He won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award and was an All-Star for the first time. He made the All-NBA Third Team and the All-Defense First Team. He also received several votes for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.

Oladipo was a terror on both ends, and his best season was electric. Injuries cut short his time at the top, but he dominated for an entire season — and had the Pacers not lost in the first round of the postseason, he might be higher on this list.

2: Reggie Miller 1996-97

While Miller himself may not consider this season to be one of his best, it was certainly one of the best seasons of his career and a turnaround year for the all-time star.

The then 31-year-old increased his three-point percentage to nearly seven attempts per game, an almost unheard of rate for a player with Miller’s accuracy. That season, he made 42.7% of his three-pointers, his second-best percentage ever, and made the shots fly.

He was the third-best player in the league in three-point attempts per game, and the two players ahead of Miller both made less than 37% of their three-point shots. His combination of volume and accuracy was unmatched, leading to an average of 21.6 points per game. He made more three-pointers than any other player this season and was the 10th-most point-scorer.

The Pacers had a bad year and didn’t make the playoffs. The team’s weaknesses prevented Miller from becoming an All-Star again. But he was outstanding individually and compared to his professional colleagues, this was perhaps his best season.

1: Reggie Miller 1997-98

Many consider the 1997-98 Pacers to be the most talented team in franchise history, and Miller’s dominance that season played a big part in that. It was the best combination of regular-season brilliance and postseason success the UCLA product has ever experienced.

Miller made a career-high 42.9% of his shots from beyond the arc. He increased his steals while reducing his turnovers and foul numbers. The legendary guard was able to carry over some of his shooting strengths from the previous season while improving other areas of his game.

The California native was an All-Star for the fourth time this season and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. He received MVP votes and led the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in seven games.

Miller was able to maintain his numbers into the playoffs and continued to make good shots. His teammates were talented, so he pushed back when he needed to, but his killer instinct remained. Overall, this season featured the best combination of Reggie Miller in the regular season and the playoffs, and it is the best season by a shooting guard in Indiana Pacers history.

For more information about this list, see the Fixated on pacemaker Podcasts.