Formative Period
2Feb67 The formation of the ABA is announced with an Indianapolis franchise awarded for $30,000 to Indiana Professional Sports, Inc., a group including L. Charles DeVoe, John DeVoe, U. Keith Stone, William Eastman, Robert M. Bowes II, Willard D. Eason, E.J. Bannon, George L. Treece, Norb F. Schaefer Jr. and Richard P. Tinkham Jr..... E.J. Bannon is named President .... Robert Wilman is named Vice President .... Mike Storen is named General Manager .... Sign Roger Brown who is on the NBA's ineligible list and is playing for the AAU's Brothers Mortuaries team .... Larry Staverman is named coach .... Draft Jimmy Walker (who signs with Detroit of the NBA), Bob Netolicky, and Charlie Beasley (who signs with Dallas) .... Sign Oliver Darden, Freddie Lewis, Jim Rayl and Reggie Harding .... Fail in attempts to sign Oscar Robertson, Terry Dischinger, Dick Van Arsdale and Tom Van Arsdale of the NBA .... Play at Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum

1967-68 (38-40) Third Place in Eastern Division
Avg. Regular Season Attendance: 5,167
13Nov67 Jerry Harkness hits an 88-foot three-point shot at the buzzer to give the Pacers a 119-118 win at Dallas .... 9Jan68 The first ABA All-Star Game is held in Indianapolis with the East defeating the West 126-120 -- Larry Brown of New Orleans is voted MVP and Brown, Lewis and Netolicky play .... 22Mar68 Louie Dampier of Kentucky scores 54 points against the Pacers .... Brown is named Second Team All-ABA .... Netolicky is named to the ABA All-Rookie Team .... Lose in the playoffs to Pittsburgh 3 games to 0

1968-69 (44-34) First Place in Eastern Division
Avg. Regular Season Attendance: 5,864
Draft Don May (who signs with New York of the NBA) and Mike Lewis .... John DeVoe is named President .... May68 Minnesota trades Mel Daniels to Indiana for $75,000, a first round draft choice, James Dawson and Ron Kozlicki .... After a 2-7 start to the season Staverman is fired and Bob "Slick" Leonard is named coach .... 14Dec68 John DeVoe dies from a heart attack suffered during a Indiana-Houston game .... L. Charles DeVoe becomes team President .... 19Dec68 Lewis is traded to Pittsburgh for Steve Chubin .... 28Jan69 Netolicky and Daniels play in the All-Star Game .... 31Jan69 Trade Chubin to New York for Ron Perry .... 18Mar69 Daniels Scores 56 points and grabs 31 rebounds against New York .... 5Apr69 Daniels is named ABA Most Valuable Player, posting a league-leading 16.5 RPG .... Daniels is named First Team All-ABA .... Defeat Kentucky 4 games to 3 and Miami 4 games to 1 in the playoffs before losing in the ABA Championship Series to Oakland 4 games to 1

1969-70 (59-25) First Place in Eastern Division
Avg. Regular Season Attendance: 7,787
Draft Billy Keller .... Sign John Barnhill .... Acquire Art Becker from Houston .... 24Jan70 The ABA All-Star Game is played in Indianapolis with the West defeating the East 128-98 -- Spencer Haywood of Denver is voted MVP, Leonard coaches East team, and Brown, Lewis, Daniels and Netolicky play.... 23Mar70 Draft Rick Mount and Dennis Awtrey (who signs with Philadelphia of the NBA) .... Daniels is named First Team All-ABA .... Brown and Netolicky are named Second Team All-ABA .... 19May70 Brown scores 53 points against Los Angeles in a playoff game.... Defeat Carolina 4 games to 0, Kentucky 4 games to 1 and Los Angeles 4 games to 2 in playoffs to win the ABA Championship

1970-71 (58-26) First Place in Western Division
Avg. Regular Season Attendance: 8,187
Storen resigns to become Kentucky President and General Manager .... John Weissert is named General Manager .... 13Oct70 Trade a first round draft choice and cash to Kentucky for Warren Armstrong .... 22Jan71 Draft Darnell Hillman, John Mengelt (who signs with Cincinnati of the NBA) and Jim Cleamons (who signs with Los Angeles of the NBA) .... 23Jan71 Brown, Netolicky and Daniels play in the All-Star Game with Daniels voted MVP .... Feb71 Barnhill and Becker are traded to Denver for Wayne Chapman and Don Sidle .... Brown and Daniels are named First Team All-ABA .... 30Mar71 Daniels is named ABA Most Valuable Player .... Defeat Memphis 4 games to 0 in playoffs before losing to Utah 4 games to 3

1971-72 (47-37) Second Place in Western Division
Avg. Regular Season Attendance: 8,476
Sign Indiana University underclassman George McGinnis to a three-year, $150,000 contract .... Sep71 Trade Armstrong to the Floridians for a draft pick and cash .... 29Jan72 Brown, Lewis and Daniels play in the All-Star Game .... McGinnis is named to the ABA All-Rookie Team .... Defeat Denver 4 games to 3, Utah 4 games to 3 and New York 4 games to 2 in playoffs to win ABA Championship

1972-73 (51-33) Second Place in Western Division
Avg. Regular Season Attendance: 8,281
12Aug72 Sell Netolicky to Dallas for $250,000.... Aug72 Trade Marv Winkler and cash to Dallas for Donnie Freeman .... Aug72 Sell Mount to Kentucky for $250,000 .... Sign Don Buse .... 9Nov72 Daniels and Brown become the first ABA players to reach the 10,000-point plateau .... 28Nov72 McGinnis scores 58 points against Dallas .... 6Feb73 Daniels and McGinnis play in the All-Star Game .... McGinnis and Daniels are named Second Team All-ABA .... Defeat Denver 4 games to 1, Utah 4 games to 2 and Kentucky 4 games to 3 in playoffs to win second straight ABA Championship

1973-74 (46-33) Second Place in Western Division
Avg. Regular Season Attendance: 7,579
Draft Mike Green (who signs with Denver) in special circumstance draft .... Draft Len Elmore in undergraduate draft .... Acquire Kevin Joyce from San Antonio .... Nov73 Reacquire Netolicky from San Antonio for cash and a draft pick .... 12Jan74 McGinnis scores 52 points and collects a team-record 37 rebounds against Carolina .... 13Jan73 Bo Lamar of San Diego scores 52 points against the Pacers .... 30Jan74 Daniels and McGinnis play in the All-Star Game .... McGinnis is named First Team All-ABA .... Defeat San Antonio 4 games to 3 in playoffs before losing to Utah 4 games to 3

1974-75 (45-39) Third Place in Western Division
Avg. Regular Season Attendance: 8,604
17Apr74 Select Clifford Ray, Bill Bradley, Mel Counts, Pat Riley and Jim Davis a in draft of NBA players .... 17Apr74 Draft Billy Knight and undergraduate Alex English (who remains in college) .... Jul74 Lewis and Daniels are traded to Memphis for Charlie Edge and cash .... Jul74 Sell Freeman to San Antonio .... 24Sep74 Brown signs with Memphis as a free agent .... Sign Elmore .... Weissert is named team President .... Move into Market Square Arena .... 13Nov74 Purchase Johnny Neumann from Virginia .... Jan75 Team nearly goes broke during the season after owners become involved in the World Hockey Association's Indianapolis Racers -- owners seek help from the league and eventually sell the team to a group known as Arena Sports, Inc., a group headed by Tom Binford (the Chief Steward of the Indianapolis 500) and including Bill Bindley, Jim Walker and Bob Wilds.... New ownership group assumes $550,000 in debts and $3.5 million in deferred payments .... 28Jan75 McGinnis plays in the All-Star Game .... 13Mar75 Sell Neumann to Virginia .... McGinnis is named First Team All-ABA .... McGinnis is named Co-ABA Most Valuable Player (with New York's Julius Erving) .... Knight is named to the ABA All-Rookie Team .... Buse is named to the ABA All-Defensive Team .... 12Apr75 McGinnis scores 51 points against San Antonio in a playoff game.... Defeat San Antonio 4 games to 2 and Denver 4 games to 3 in playoffs before losing in the ABA Championship Series to Kentucky 4 games to 1

1975-76 (39-45) Fifth Place
Avg. Regular Season Attendance: 7,739
16Jun75 Draft Dan Roundfield .... McGinnis buys out the remainder of his contract for $87,750, becoming a free agent .... McGinnis signs with the New York Knicks of the NBA, but his contract is voided because the Philadelphia 76ers hold his rights .... 10Jul75 McGinnis signs with Philadelphia of the NBA .... Trade Joyce to San Diego .... 12Nov75 Acquire Travis Grant and Dave Robisch from San Diego in a special dispersal draft after the Sails fold .... 27Jan76 Knight and Buse play in the All-Star Game .... Buse is named to the ABA All-Defensive Team .... Lose in the first round of the playoffs to Kentucky 2 games to 1

17Jun76 An ABA/NBA merger finally takes place, with Denver, Indiana, New York and San Antonio each paying $3.2 million to join the NBA....The four ABA clubs agree not to receive any television money for their first three seasons in the NBA, and not to participate in the 1976 college draft....The four ABA clubs agree to be referred to as "expansion franchises".... The four ABA clubs agree that for two years, they will have no vote regarding the distribution of NBA gate receipts or the realignment of NBA divisions....The four ABA clubs keep the players on their rosters with the remaining ABA players (from Kentucky and St. Louis) going into a special dispersal draft....