Roy Hibbert reflects on his time with the Indiana Pacers: 'I'm always going to be a Pacer no matter what'
Former Indiana Pacers All-Star big man Roy Hibbert was back in Indianapolis on Wednesday. The nine-year pro was the first person to get the Indiana crowd going via their "rev it up" tradition before games — he pretended to rev the engine of an IndyCar just before the tip off.
Hibbert's last game in the arena as a player was in December of 2016 when he was with the Charlotte Hornets. He scored six points, grabbed three rebounds, and of course had a block. Defense is what he was known for with the Pacers.
His performances on that end of the floor played a major role in Hibbert being a two-time All-Star for the franchise. He was the anchor of two squads that reached the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers traded him away in 2015 after acquiring him during the 2008 NBA Draft.
"After I got traded, I was like 'forget y'all'. But at the same time, time heals all wounds and everything like that. I'm always going to be a Pacer no matter what," he shared on Wednesday before the Pacers took on the Wizards. He was happy to be back.
Hibbert was impressed by the new look inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which has been renamed since he last played there. He still keeps up with some of the core members of the great Pacers teams he was a part of, including head coach Frank Vogel, who now coaches the Phoenix Suns, as well as Paul George, David West, and George Hill. George is with the Los Angeles Clippers while Hill played for the Pacers last year.
He did get to chat with Hill last season when the veteran guard was back with Indiana, and Hibbert has the impression that the current Pacers team is a hard working, young bunch. That isn't unlike the team when Hibbert was brought on board 15 years ago.
"When I first got here in 2008... nobody was in the arena. You could hear a pin drop. And then slowly, sorta doing the small steps to get better," he said when talking about his favorite memories with the franchise. He recalls fans liking the team because they dove on the floor and played hard. His biggest moments are nice memories, but the team's ascent was special.
Hibbert played for the organization for seven seasons and appeared in nearly 600 games including the postseason. His rim protection was transformative in the NBA and made Indiana one of the top defenses in the league every night. He averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game during his time with the blue and gold.
Now, he works for CBS as a college sports analyst, a job he enjoys and can do while raising his young kids. It's his second year in the role, and part of what he enjoys about it is the prep work. It's very similar to what he did in the NBA to prepare for games — he watches teams play. For CBS, it's the teams he is about to analyze. As a player, it was his opponents.
Between his NBA days and joining CBS, Hibbert was on staff with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was willing to work his way up the coaching ranks, but he didn't enjoy having to babysit players. "I'm okay. If I can't help coach you and push you, I think that I'm okay," he said.
Since his time in the league, Hibbert has enjoyed seeing the growth of the center position. Nikola Jokic, a former teammate of Hibbert's, and Joel Emiid, someone Hibbert coached, are among the best players in the NBA right now.
Hibbert also enjoyed being back and being a spectator. He was looking forward to departing the arena through the concourse like other attendees, and his fan section (which is now named after Pacers center Myles Turner) is still around. "It's amazing," Hibbert said.
Before answering questions, Hibbert joked that he wouldn't say anything controversial. He was in the same building that he uttered one of his most famous, and aggressive, lines when speaking with the media. "Y'all motherf—ers don't watch us play throughout the year to tell you the truth," he said after Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2013.
"I feel like it always resonates," he joked about that line on Wednesday. He noted that the small amount of attention put on his Pacers teams gave them a chip on their shoulder, which helped them mentally.
Hibbert was a part of some of the best Pacers teams ever. They just couldn't quite take down LeBron James and the Miami Heat. But he has a spot in Pacers, and NBA, history thanks to his defensive skills, and he got to feel those emotions again on Wednesday night.
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