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
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
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
z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
Player statistics
Regular season PlayerC82 2,302 693 166 95 106 879 28.1 8.5 2.0 1.2 1.3 10.7PG 81 2,947 270 685 281 16 646 36.4 3.3 8.5 3.5 .2 8.0PF 80 2,709 604 189 102 80 1,042 33.9 7.6 2.4 1.3 1.0 13.0C 80 1,966 554 158 55 37 951 24.6 6.9 2.0 .7 .5 11.9SF 78 3,117 582 260 117 19 2,075 40.0 7.5 3.3 1.5 .2 26.6SG 73 1,324 187 179 57 6 601 18.1 2.6 2.5 .8 .1 8.2SF 70 918 177 46 46 12 450 13.1 2.5 .7 .7 .2 6.4PF 67 911 237 70 37 33 314 13.6 3.5 1.0 .6 .5 4.7PF 61 1,645 518 69 61 131 848 27.0 8.5 1.1 1.0 2.1 13.9PG 32 552 47 56 18 2 224 17.3 1.5 1.8 .6 .1 7.0†SG 30 1,055 74 111 48 7 620 35.2 2.5 3.7 1.6 .2 20.7SG 27 164 12 10 6 2 66 6.1 .4 .4 .2 .1 2.4C 6 46 15 2 0 4 18 7.7 2.5 .3 .0 .7 3.0SG 5 40 6 2 1 0 5 8.0 1.2 .4 .2 .0 1.0†PF 5 38 10 3 0 1 12 7.6 2.0 .6 .0 .2 2.4†PF 2 21 7 3 0 2 7 10.5 3.5 1.5 .0 1.0 3.5
Awards and records Billy Knight, NBA All-Star Game Don Buse, NBA All-Star Game Don Buse, NBA All-Defensive First Team
References