A rival’s legend; one of the greatest shooters ever: This was the starting five of the last Pacers team to reach the NBA Finals

The Indiana Pacers will travel to Oklahoma for the first game of the 2025 NBA Finals on Thursday, their first appearance in the championship series since 2000.

This year’s Pacers team have already made history, beating the Bucks, Cavaliers and Knicks en route to the Finals. The performances of Tyrese Haliburton have put him in ‘face of the league’ conversations and he can secure immortality by bringing a first NBA championship to Indiana.

A quarter of a century on from the 2000 NBA Finals, that iconic Pacers team are still adored among fans.

Who was in the Pacers 2000 team?

That Pacers team came up against the all-conquering LA Lakers that won three consecutive championships at the start of the 21st century. With Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal led by legendary head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers were one of the league’s great teams.

The Pacers also boasted some genuine NBA legends, none more so than the show-stopping Reggie Miller. He spent his entire 18-year professional career with the Pacers and is regarded as one of the greatest clutch shooters in NBA history.

“It always comes down to me,” Miller said after 2000’s Game 1 Finals win over the Lakers. “This is my team - I’ve got to step up and I’ve got to do everything."

Miller had a number of those game-winning moments in the 2000 postseason, most notably the infamous ‘choke celebration’ aimed at Knicks fan Spike Lee during the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. That same celebration was brought back by Haliburton during this year’s Eastern Conference series.

Alongside Miller, Jalen Rose was named Most Improved Player while Rik Smits offered real defensive great and impressive rebounding abilities. With a tough defense and a game-winning scorer the Pacers looked well placed to test the Lakers but the superstars from the West won 4-2, with Shaq averaging an astonishing 38 points across the six games.

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