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Pacers Organization Chartered Two Planes So More Staffers Could Go To Finals Game 1

Ryan Phillips

Reggie Miller and Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon are seen after his team won the Eastern Conference Finals.
Reggie Miller and Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon are seen after his team won the Eastern Conference Finals. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
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The Indiana Pacers are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000 and the franchise is going all out to celebrate that feat.

To that end, on Thursday the Pacers chartered two flights to Oklahoma City so the franchise's staff could attend Game 1 of the finals against Oklahoma City.

That's a great move by the Pacers. Though they have a really good team, there's no guarantee they'll be back any time soon, so rewarding the staff that helped get them there is a worthy expense.

Indiana finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and has had a brilliant run through the playoffs. The Pacers hammered the Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 in the first round, knocked off the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, and took down the New York Knicks in six during the Eastern Conference finals. They're aiming for three straight upsets, now going up against the Thunder.

They'll have some extra support in the arena during Game 1.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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