Indiana Pacers Trivia
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69 free Indiana Pacers trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
This Indiana Pacers trivia quiz covers the whole franchise story: the six investors who bought an ABA team in 1967, Slick Leonard's three-title dynasty at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum, the lean early NBA years and the lopsided trades that defined them, then Reggie Miller's 18 seasons of tormenting the Knicks, the 2000 Finals, the Malice at the Palace, the Paul George era and Tyrese Haliburton's improbable 2025 run to Game 7 of the Finals. Questions range from easy (what animal is Boomer?) to expert (which fan threw the cup at Ron Artest, and how much was the 1976 NBA entry fee?), with detours into uniforms, arenas, the Pacemates and the Fever. It works as a solo test or as a ready-made round for a watch party at Gainbridge Fieldhouse or your local bar. Every answer was checked against primary and encyclopaedic sources before it went in, so when you miss one you can trust the explanation. If you want the wider league, our NBA trivia page is the natural next stop.
30 of 69 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What name did the Pacers' home arena, opened in 1999, take in 2021?
Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Gainbridge Fieldhouse is the building's third name, after Conseco and Bankers Life; its brick-and-glass design copies Indiana's old high-school gyms, which is why it is called a fieldhouse.
Q 02By a founding investor's account, the Pacers' name honours the Indianapolis 500 pace car and which other Indiana tradition?
Harness racing
Harness racing: investor Dick Tinkham recalled pairing Indiana's pacing horses with the 500's pace car, though the club's 1967 announcement said only that it meant to set the pace.
Q 03Which former Indiana Mr. Basketball was playoff MVP when the Pacers won their third ABA title in 1973?
George McGinnis
George McGinnis was playoff MVP as the Pacers won a third ABA title in four years; two seasons later he was the league's MVP, and that summer he left for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.
Q 04Before reaching their second NBA Finals, in 2025, the Pacers knocked out which top-seeded East team in five games?
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers had the East's best record, but Indiana won all three games played in Cleveland, one on a Tyrese Haliburton three with 1.1 seconds left, and took the series 4-1.
Q 05Which team beat the Pacers in the 1975 ABA Finals, then was left out of the 1976 merger with the NBA?
Kentucky Colonels
The Kentucky Colonels were ABA champions in 1975 and gone a year later: the NBA agreed to take only four clubs, the Pacers among them, and the Colonels folded.
Q 06Nearly bankrupt after joining the NBA, the Pacers were kept afloat in 1977 by what kind of fundraiser?
A telethon
A telethon: the $3.2 million NBA entry fee and a first season without television money had left the club near ruin, and the July 1977 'Save the Pacers' broadcast rallied enough support to keep it going.
Q 07Which coach has the most wins in Pacers history, 529 across 12 seasons?
Slick Leonard
Slick Leonard won all three of the Pacers' ABA titles, was let go in 1980, and came back as the broadcaster whose shout of 'Boom, baby!' greeted every three-pointer.
Q 08Which future scoring great did the Pacers trade to Denver in 1980 to bring back a former ABA star of theirs?
Alex English
Alex English went on to score more points than any other NBA player in the 1980s, while the star Indiana got back was waived within three seasons.
Q 09Which player did Portland select second overall with the 1984 pick from the Pacers' Tom Owens trade?
Sam Bowie
Portland used the Pacers' pick on center Sam Bowie at No. 2 in 1984, with Michael Jordan yet to be picked; leg injuries derailed Bowie's career.
Q 10Which Pacers rookie, nicknamed 'The Rifleman', won NBA Rookie of the Year in 1986–87?
Chuck Person
Chuck Person was born Chuck Connors Person, named after the actor who starred in the TV western The Rifleman, so the nickname was waiting for him long before he reached the NBA.
Q 11Reggie Miller was drafted by the Pacers in 1987 out of which college?
UCLA
UCLA got a shooter who had spent his first years in leg braces: Reggie Miller was born with a hip deformity that kept him from walking properly, yet he went 11th in the 1987 draft.
Q 12Fans were upset the Pacers drafted Reggie Miller in 1987 instead of which Indiana University star?
Steve Alford
Steve Alford had just led Indiana to the 1987 NCAA title, and some fans booed the pick; Alford went 26th to Dallas and averaged 4.4 points over four NBA seasons.
Q 13Which 7-foot-4 center did the Pacers select in the 1988 NBA draft?
Rik Smits
Rik Smits, the 'Dunking Dutchman', spent all 12 NBA seasons in Indiana; his 34 points against Patrick Ewing in a 1995 playoff series opener were upstaged by Reggie Miller's finish to the same game.
Q 21Which star of the Pistons' 'Bad Boys' teams coached the Pacers from 2000 to 2003?
Isiah Thomas
Isiah Thomas went 131-115 as Pacers coach, reaching the playoffs each year but never winning a series, before being dismissed in 2003.
Q 22Which Pacers forward went to Portland in the 2000 trade that brought Jermaine O'Neal?
Dale Davis
Dale Davis, fresh off his only All-Star appearance, was sent to Portland that August for Jermaine O'Neal, who went on to make six All-Star teams with the Pacers.
Q 23The 2002 trade that brought Ron Artest to Indiana sent which Fab Five member to the Bulls?
Jalen Rose
Jalen Rose, the Pacers' leading scorer two seasons earlier, went to Chicago in February 2002; in Indiana, Artest became an All-Star and the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year.
Q 14In 1989 the Pacers traded Herb Williams to Dallas for which future Sixth Man of the Year?
Detlef Schrempf
Detlef Schrempf won the award with Indiana in 1991 and 1992, and the second-round pick Dallas threw into the deal became Antonio Davis.
Q 15Reggie Miller's 1994 'choke sign' was aimed at which Knicks celebrity fan?
Spike Lee
Reggie Miller flashed the choke sign at Spike Lee while scoring 25 fourth-quarter points to win Game 5 of the 1994 East finals in New York, but the Knicks took the next two games and the series.
Q 16In Game 1 of the 1995 East semifinals, Reggie Miller scored eight points in how many seconds?
8.9
8.9 seconds was all Reggie Miller needed: down 105-99 with 18.7 seconds left, he hit a three, stole the inbounds pass and hit another, then made two free throws for a 107-105 win.
Q 17The 1995–96 Pacers were the only team to beat which title contender twice in the regular season?
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls went 72-10, then the best record in NBA history, and won the title; two of the ten losses were to Indiana, yet the Pacers went out in the first round of the playoffs.
Q 18Who was hired as the Pacers' head coach in 1997?
Larry Bird
Larry Bird had never coached before, yet he improved the Pacers by 19 wins in his first season, was named Coach of the Year, and reached the NBA Finals in his third and final season.
Q 19Which team defeated the Pacers in six games in the 2000 NBA Finals?
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers took the first title of the Shaq-and-Kobe era; the swing game was Game 4, which they won in overtime in Indianapolis even after Shaquille O'Neal fouled out.
Q 20Which 1992 Dream Team sharpshooter did the Pacers acquire from Golden State in 1997?
Chris Mullin
Chris Mullin started all 82 games in his first Pacers season and led the NBA in free-throw percentage; by 2000 he was a little-used reserve, but he finally played in an NBA Finals.
Q 24In 2024 the Pacers reached their first East finals in ten years, only to be swept by which team?
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics, on their way to the title, won all four games, the last two by three points each, after Tyrese Haliburton hurt his hamstring in Game 2 and missed the rest of the series.
Q 25The 'Malice at the Palace' brawl on November 19, 2004, took place during a game against which team?
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons were hosting the Pacers at The Palace of Auburn Hills; the game was called off with 45.9 seconds left as Indiana led 97-82 and left the floor under a shower of drinks.
Q 26Which NBA commissioner banned Ron Artest for 73 games and the playoffs after the 2004 brawl?
David Stern
David Stern's ban ran to the end of the 2004-05 season, the longest ever given for an on-court incident, and cost Artest about $5 million in salary.
Q 27Which Pacer followed Ron Artest into the stands during the 2004 brawl and was suspended for 30 games?
Stephen Jackson
Stephen Jackson went into the crowd behind Artest and traded punches with fans, drawing a 30-game ban, the second-longest of the nine suspensions handed out.
Q 28Which jersey number did the Pacers retire for Reggie Miller in March 2006?
31
Reggie Miller's No. 31 went to the rafters on March 30, 2006; in his final game, a 2005 playoff loss, he scored 27 points and left to a standing ovation that the visiting team joined.
Q 29In 2005–06 the Pacers traded Ron Artest to Sacramento in exchange for which sharpshooting forward?
Peja Stojaković
Peja Stojaković arrived in January 2006 after Artest had demanded a trade and been left off the active roster, but he played only half a season in Indiana before leaving for New Orleans.
Q 30Which center did the Pacers receive in the 2008 trade of Jermaine O'Neal?
Roy Hibbert
Roy Hibbert, a Georgetown center drafted in the first round in 2008, came to Indiana in the Jermaine O'Neal deal and became a two-time All-Star anchoring the 2013 and 2014 East finals teams.