1999-2000 Indiana Pacers: Reggie’s Best Chance

July 3rd, 2026
By Marneen Zahavi
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For much of his career shooting guard Reggie Miller had numerous stumbling blocks that prevented him from reaching his ultimate goal of playing in the NBA Finals, and some of those stumbling blocks included the two three-peat dynasties of the Chicago Bulls of the 1990’s, the Orlando Magic of the mid 1990’s and their rivals the New York Knicks. Now at the age of 34 Miller was on a team that had plenty of talent capable of carrying the team along with him, and it seemed like everything would finally fall into place in Indianapolis.

In the 1999-2000 NBA season the Indiana Pacers went 56-26, winning the Central Division by 7 games over the Charlotte Hornets. The Pacers went 36-5 on their home court of the Conseco Fieldhouse while going only 20-21 on the road. The Pacers went 20-8 in divisional play, and as a result they finished the season as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Reggie Miller had 1,470 points, 239 rebounds, 187 assists and 85 steals, making 165 of 404 3-point shots and 373 of 406 free throws. Small forward Jalen Rose brought to the Pacers a certain form of toughness that the team needed. Rose had 1,457 points, 387 rebounds, 320 assists and 84 steals, making 77 of 196 3-point shots and 254 of 307 free throws. Center Rik Smits had 1,018 points, 401 rebounds and 100 blocks, making 156 of 211 free throws. Power forward Austin Croshere had 835 points and 516 rebounds, making 63 of 174 3-point shots and 196 of 231 free throws.

Center Dale Davis had 743 points, 729 rebounds and 94 blocks, making 302 of 602 field goal shots. Point guard Travis Best had 733 points and 272 assists, making 35 of 93 3-point shots and 156 of 190 free throws. Point guard Mark Jackson had 660 points, 296 rebounds and 650 assists, making 89 of 221 3-point shots and 79 of 98 free throws. Power forward Sam Perkins had 537 points and 289 rebounds, making 89 of 218 3-point shots and 80 of 97 free throws. Shooting guard Chris Mullin made 45 of 110 3-point shots and 37 of 41 free throws. Derrick McKey made 10 of 23 3-point shots and 43 of 56 free throws.

Reggie Miller and Dale Davis would make the 2000 NBA All-Star Game while Jalen Rose would win the NBA Most Improved Player Award.

The Pacers would go on a couple of impressive winning streaks. The first winning streaked spanned 6 games, which began with a 93-91 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on November 29, and it ended with a 108-90 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on December 11. The second impressive winning streak spanned 7 games, which began with a 113-103 win over the Seattle SuperSonics on December 21, and it ended with a 102-87 win over the Denver Nuggets on January 6.

The Pacers would go the 5-game distance with the Milwaukee Bucks in the First Round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, but thankfully the Pacers won the series 3 games to 2. In Game 1 on April 23 at the Conseco Fieldhouse the Pacers edged out the Bucks 88-85. Jalen Rose had 26 points and 6 rebounds, making 3 of 4 3-point shots. Reggie Miller had 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Dale Davis had 12 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks.

In Game 2 on April 27 the Bucks won 104-91. In Game 3 on April 29 at the Bradley Center the Pacers won 109-96. Miller had 34 points and 5 assists, making 4 of 14 3-point shots. Rose had 27 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, making 2 of 2 3-point shots. Travis Best had 18 points and 4 assists, making 2 of 3 3-point shots. In Game 4 on May 1 the Bucks beat the Pacers 100-87. In the deciding Game 5 on May 4 at the Conseco Fieldhouse the Pacers held on to beat the Bucks 96-95 to send them home. Miller exploded in offensive production as he had 41 points and 5 rebounds, making 3 of 7 3-point shots. Rose had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.

The Pacers would be pitted against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, now having to deal with a dangerous shooting guard in Allen Iverson. The Pacers managed to maneuver past the76ers and win the series 4 games to 2. In Game 1 on May 6 at the Conseco Fieldhouse the Pacers won 108-91. Miller and Rose would equally explode on the score sheets as Miller has 40 points and made 7 of 10 3-point shots. Rose also had 40 points and 3 assists, making 3 of 5 3-point shots.

In Game 2 on May 8 the Pacers beat the 76ers 103-97. Rose had 30 points and 7 rebounds. Austin Croshere had 20 points and 6 rebounds, making 4 of 4 3-point shots. Miller had 19 points and 6 assists. In Game 3 on May 10 at the First Union Center the Pacers won 97-89. Miller had 29 points and 3 assists, making 4 of 8 3-point shots. Best had 19 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.

The 76ers tried to regain their footing in this series as they would take the next 2 games, beating the Pacers 92-90 in Game 4 on May 13, and then winning Game 5 on May 15 at the Conseco Fieldhouse 107-86. The Pacers stopped any chance of a Philadelphia comeback by beating the 76ers 106-90 in Game 6 on May 19 at the First Union Center to eliminate them. Miller had 25 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, making 3 of 8 3-point shots. Rose had 21 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, making 2 of 3 3-point shots. Rik Smits had 18 points and 9 rebounds.

The defending Eastern Conference Champions stood in the way of the Pacers as they faced their rivals the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers would prevail and eliminate the Knicks 4 games to 2. In Game 1 on May 23 at the Conseco Fieldhouse the Pacers won 102-88. Austin Croshere had 22 points and 4 rebounds, making 4 of 5 3-point shots. Miller had 19 points and 7 assists, making 1 of 2 3-point shots. Rose had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, making 1 of 2 3-point shots.

In Game 2 on May 25 the Pacers beat the Knicks 88-84. Rose had 24 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Miller had 19 points and made 3 of 4 3-point shots. In Game 3 on May 27 at Madison Square Garden the Knicks won 98-95, and then the Knicks won Game 4 on May 29 by the score of 91-85.

After the series was tied at 2 games apiece the Pacers created separation for themselves. In Game 5 on May 31 at the Conseco Fieldhouse the Pacers won 88-79. Rose had 18 points and 7 rebounds, making 3 of 5 3-point shots. Best had 24 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, making 2 of 3 3-point shots. Miller had 16 points and 4 rebounds, making 2 of 9 3-point shots. The Pacers then put the Knicks away in Game 6 on June 2 at Madison Square Garden with a 93-80 win. Miller carried the Pacers on his back as he had 34 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals, making 5 of 7 3-point shots.

Reggie Miller’s best chance at winning an NBA Championship would be in the 2000 NBA Finals as the Indiana Pacers finally made it to the NBA’s biggest stage. Unfortunately, the Pacers ran into what would be the beginning of a dominant NBA Championship dynasty as the Los Angeles Lakers developed into a scary team. The Pacers fell to the Lakers 4 games to 2, falling just short of the ultimate prize.

In Game 3 on June 11 at the Conseco Fieldhouse the Pacers beat the Lakers 100-91. Miller had 33 points and made 2 of 7 3-point shots. Rose had 21 points and 6 rebounds. In Game 5 on June 16 at the Conseco Fieldhouse the Pacers crushed the Lakers 120-87. Rose had 32 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, making 4 of 5 3-point shots. Miller had 25 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, making 4 of 6 3-point shots.

Even at the age of 34 Reggie Miller had still proved that he was one of the best shooters in the NBA, and he would continue to get more chances in the playoffs up until the time of his retirement at the age of 39. The Pacers would continue to ride off Miller’s momentum until 2004-2005.