The Pacers Years: Jermaine O'Neal

Hey guys, I am now starting a new series called The Pacers Years. It recaps the former Pacers that made great contributions to the squad. Today, I begin with Jermaine O'Neal, who is currently the starting center for the Miami Heat.

On September 1, 2000, the Indiana Pacers made a trade that changed their whole team's franchise for the next eight years to come. They traded big man Antonio Davis to the Portland Trailblazers for young, four-year pro Jermaine O'Neal. This was one of the smartest moves in Indiana Pacers history. He wasn't that all impressive with Portland, as his career-high year with that team was in his second year, 1997, averaging about five points and three rebounds per game. The Pacers were going to have a great power forward/center for years to come.

Nobody expected anything out of O'Neal that year, but he became a key role player quickly in his first year with all-star Reggie Miller, averaging about 13 points per game and about ten rebounds per game. It was a career-high, for now. He and his Pacers went towards a 41-41 record, and O'Neal kept improving and improving as he played a role in the NBA Playoffs. He averaged ten points and 13 rebounds per game in the Playoffs, which is very impressive actually. Although Indy did get swept by the Philadelphia 76ers there, the 2001-02 season looked to be a much larger success.

2001

During the 2001-02 season, O'Neal made a name for himself on the Indiana Pacers and in the NBA. He averaged about 20 points and eleven rebounds per game. With all that success and going up another level in his averages, it all paid off as he won the NBA Most Improved Player Award.

Said then Pacers' head coach, Isiah Thomas:

"When you see gifted people, those people have to work twice as hard as the normal guy because they have more skills. A guy who can only shoot, he can come in the gym and work on shooting for 45 minutes and go home. A guy who has a multitude of skills has to put more time in the gym to make sure he hones every part of his game. He has to go to A, B, C, D.

"Jermaine has worked his tail off to get to this level. And he's got to keep going."

O'Neal said he was "okay with the award," and he wanted to get to a point in which he "destroys the entire league." O'Neal was going to get his wish. In the Playoffs, the Pacers had an exciting series with the New Jersey Nets, but eventually lost after Kenyon Martin's ability to force O'Neal to average about 18 points and eight rebounds per game during the series.

Also, with Reggie Miller getting older and older as he was going to be 37 next year, it brought questions to the Pacers franchise. Could O'Neal be the new face of the franchise now that Miller is passing his prime? It was a tough question ask, but people were nodding yes. And with a strong supporting cast of Jamaal Tinsley, Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Al Harrington, and Reggie himself, what was to lose? Absolutely nothing. Nothing at all.

2002

O'Neal continued to improve as he entered the new 2002-03 season. O'Neal and his Pacers looked to be a very strong team this year. And when they were looking to be one, they were one, as the Pacers started out as the league-best team, starting out in a 14-2 record. The Pacers were the best until All-Star break after a Brad Miller injury. The Pacers finished 48-34, but the record didn't matter, all that did matter was they had a playoff berth.

O'Neal had a great year, averaging 21 points and ten rebounds, which made him one of the only players in the NBA to do a feat of averaging over 20 points and ten rebounds. Although the numbers were great and O'Neal had some awards that year, the team failed to reach success in the playoffs again, losing to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, 4-2. The Pacers were a first-round exit, for the third time in a row. They had to do something now.

But despite the playoffs failure, O'Neal went up to enormous heights in the playoffs. He had a career-high in the playoffs, averaging about 23 points and 18 rebounds. He was so close to a 20/20. It was truly astonishing to witness this and it was all going well for O'Neal as next year, he got his wish as the Pacers looked to be the best team in the NBA next year, in the 2003-04 season.

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