Indiana Pacers: Compiling an all-time starting 5
Center: Mel Daniels
To find the greatest Pacers’ center one would have to go all the way back to their ABA days. Mel Daniels spent six seasons with the Pacers and led the team to dominance in the ABA. The big man out of Detroit, Michigan joined the Pacers in 1968 and was with the team until 1974. He later came back to be the head coach of the team in 1988.
Daniels was pure dominance as a member of the Pacers. He led the team to three ABA Championships (1970, 1972, and 1973) and was twice named the ABA Most Valuable Player (1969 and 1971).
He was a seven-time ABA All-Star and a four-time member of the All-ABA First Team. During his time with the Pacers, he averaged 18.9 points per game and 15.5 rebounds per game. Daniels’ jersey, 34, is one of four retired by the Pacers’ organization and he was inducted into The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
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There has never been a center for the Pacers that controlled the game as Daniels did.
Honorable mention: Rik Smits