The Indiana Pacers are the NBA team representing Indianapolis, IN. The team was bought in the late 1960s when a group of investors pooled their resources to buy a franchise in the ABA. The team name the "Pacers" came from the collective decision of the original investors and pays homage to the states rich history of harness racing pacers and the pace car running of the Indianapolis 500.

During the beginning of the teams career, their home court was in the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum which has been renamed the Pepsi Coliseum. In 1974 the team moved to the newer Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis where the team then stayed for 25 years. In the Pacer's second season former player of the Indiana Hoosiers, Bob "Slick" Leonard became the team's head coach and the Pacers became a powerhouse. During their time with the ABA they were the most successful team, winning three ABA Championships in four years. They appeared in the ABA Finals five times in the nine years of the league's history.

In 1976 the Pacers were one of the four ABA teams to join the NBA in the ABA-NBA merger, along with the New York Nets, Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs. The Pacer's financial instability followed them to the NBA and because of the high joining cost and it took a $100,000 contribution from Indianapolis businessmen to keep the franchise alive through 1977. After this the power was put into the hands of the people and fans were told that unless ticket sales reached 8,000 by the end of summer in 1977, the club would have to be sold and possibly moved to another area or state. This piqued the interest of Pacers fans and the previous average of 7,615 jumped to 10,982.

After the Pacers first season with the NBA, they had a record of 36-46 and two team members were invited to represent Indiana in the NBA All-Star Game. This was one of the brighter moments for the Pacers in their first decade in the league, as they had only one winning season and two playoff appearances.

Since joining the NBA the Pacers have gone through some changes and have definitely seen their highs and lows but in the recent seasons there have been many great signs of re-building the team to be what it was in its younger years. The growth of the team has come from gaining some great players and finally being fiscally stable.