1976–77 Indiana Pacers season

Basketball team season (1st in NBA) March 2026 August 2023 Indiana Pacers 1977 36 46 Midwest 5 9 Bobby Leonard Market Square Arena WTTV WIBC Did not qualify IND The 1976–77 NBA season was Indiana's first season in the NBA and tenth season as a franchise.1976–77 Indiana Pacers Offseason Draft picks 1976 ABA Dispersal Draft Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 8 Wil Jones† PF Albany State †In the 1976 ABA Dispersal Draft, ABA and NBA teams selected players that were on the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis, the two ABA teams that were not included in the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. Wil Jones was a member of the Kentucky Colonels during the 1975–76 ABA season. Because the Pacers were in the ABA before the merger, they did not have any picks in the 1976 NBA draft. Roster Indiana Pacers 1976–77 #2C3294 #FFFFFF #FCC624 #2C3294 21 Jerome Anderson basketball SG 6 5 195 West Virginia 9 Mel Bennett PF 6 7 200 Pittsburgh 10 Don Buse PG 6 4 190 Evansville 41 Len Elmore C 6 9 220 Maryland 44 Mike Flynn basketball SG 6 2 180 Kentucky 24 Steve Green basketball SF 6 7 220 Indiana 20 Darnell Hillman F 6 9 215 San Jose State 22 Wil Jones basketball, born 1947 PF 6 8 205 Albany State 25 Billy Knight SF 6 6 195 Pittsburgh 40 Dave Robisch C 6 10 235 Kansas 32 Dan Roundfield PF 6 8 205 Central Michigan 23 John Williamson basketball, born 1951 SG 6 2 185 New Mexico State Slick Leonard Jerry Oliver Regular season Buoyed by the sensational playmaking of Don Buse and scoring of Billy Knight, The Pacers hovered around the .500 mark for much of the first half of their inaugural NBA season but a lack of depth and a few injuries blunted the Pacers progress. The Pacers were significantly hampered by injuries to center, Len Elmore, who missed all but six games. Season standings IND IND z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot Player statistics Regular season Player POS Position GP Games played GS Games starter MP Minutes played REB Rebounds AST Assists STL Steals BLK Blocks PTS Points MPG Minutes per game RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per gameDarnell HillmanC82 2,302 693 166 95 106 879 28.1 8.5 2.0 1.2 1.3 10.7Don BusePG 81 2,947 270 685 281 16 646 36.4 3.3 8.5 3.5 .2 8.0Wil Jones basketball, born 1947PF 80 2,709 604 189 102 80 1,042 33.9 7.6 2.4 1.3 1.0 13.0Dave RobischC 80 1,966 554 158 55 37 951 24.6 6.9 2.0 .7 .5 11.9Billy KnightSF 78 3,117 582 260 117 19 2,075 40.0 7.5 3.3 1.5 .2 26.6Mike Flynn basketballSG 73 1,324 187 179 57 6 601 18.1 2.6 2.5 .8 .1 8.2Steve Green basketballSF 70 918 177 46 46 12 450 13.1 2.5 .7 .7 .2 6.4Mel BennettPF 67 911 237 70 37 33 314 13.6 3.5 1.0 .6 .5 4.7Dan RoundfieldPF 61 1,645 518 69 61 131 848 27.0 8.5 1.1 1.0 2.1 13.9Freddie LewisPG 32 552 47 56 18 2 224 17.3 1.5 1.8 .6 .1 7.0John Williamson basketball, born 1951†SG 30 1,055 74 111 48 7 620 35.2 2.5 3.7 1.6 .2 20.7Jerome Anderson basketballSG 27 164 12 10 6 2 66 6.1 .4 .4 .2 .1 2.4Len ElmoreC 6 46 15 2 0 4 18 7.7 2.5 .3 .0 .7 3.0Darrell ElstonSG 5 40 6 2 1 0 5 8.0 1.2 .4 .2 .0 1.0Rudy Hackett†PF 5 38 10 3 0 1 12 7.6 2.0 .6 .0 .2 2.4Clyde Mayes†PF 2 21 7 3 0 2 7 10.5 3.5 1.5 .0 1.0 3.5 † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Pacers only. Awards and records Billy Knight, NBA All-Star Game Don Buse, NBA All-Star Game Don Buse, NBA All-Defensive First Team References Category:Indiana Pacers seasons Indiana Indiana Pacers Indiana Pacers