Editing Indiana Pacers (section)

===1976–1987: Early NBA struggles===
The Pacers were one of four ABA teams that joined the NBA in the [[ABA–NBA merger]] in the [[1976–77 NBA season|1976–77 season]], along with the [[Denver Nuggets]], [[New York Nets]], and [[San Antonio Spurs]].

The league charged a $3.2&nbsp;million entry fee for each former ABA team.<ref>{{cite web|title=Remember the ABA: Indiana Pacers Ownership History|url=http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/IndianaMaterial/PacersRosters2.html}}</ref> Since the NBA would only agree to accept four ABA teams in the merger, the surviving ABA teams also had to compensate the two remaining ABA franchises which were not a part of the merger, the [[Spirits of St. Louis]] and [[Kentucky Colonels]] (a third ABA team, the [[Virginia Squires]], would fold operations before the merger talks began). As a result of the merger, the four teams dealt with financial troubles. Additionally, the Pacers had some financial troubles, which dated back to their waning days in the ABA; they had begun selling off some of their star players in the last ABA season. The new NBA teams also were barred from sharing in national TV revenues for four years.<ref>[http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/sports/basketball/indiana_pacers/history.html Star Files: Early years of the Indiana Pacers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409003053/http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/sports/basketball/indiana_pacers/history.html |date=April 9, 2012 }}</ref>

The Pacers finished their inaugural NBA season with a record of 36–46. [[Billy Knight]] and [[Don Buse]] represented Indiana in the [[NBA All-Star Game]]. However, this was one of the few bright spots of the Pacers' first 13&nbsp;years in the NBA. During this time, they had only two non-losing seasons and only two playoff appearances.

A lack of continuity became the norm for most of the next decade, as they traded away Knight and Buse before the [[1977–78 NBA season|1977–78 season]] even started. They acquired [[Adrian Dantley]] in exchange for Knight, but Dantley (who was averaging nearly 27 points per game at the time) was traded in December, while the Pacers' second-leading scorer, [[John Williamson (basketball, born 1951)|John Williamson]], was dealt in January.

The early Pacers came out on the short end of two of the most one-sided trades in NBA history. In 1980, they traded [[Alex English]] to the Nuggets to reacquire former ABA star [[George McGinnis]]. McGinnis was long past his prime and contributed very little during his two-year return. English, in contrast, went on to become one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. The next year, they traded a [[1984 NBA draft|1984 draft]] pick to the [[Portland Trail Blazers]] for center [[Tom Owens]], who had played for the Pacers during their last ABA season. Owens played one year for the Pacers with little impact and was out of the league altogether a year later. In [[1983–84 NBA season|1983–84]], the Pacers finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, which would have given the Pacers the second overall pick in the draft—the pick that the Blazers used to select [[Sam Bowie]] while [[Michael Jordan]] was still available. As a result of the Owens trade, they were left as bystanders in the midst of one of the deepest drafts in NBA history—including such future stars as Jordan, [[Hakeem Olajuwon]], [[Sam Perkins]], [[Charles Barkley]], and [[John Stockton]].

[[Clark Kellogg]] was drafted by the Pacers in the [[1982 NBA draft|1982]] and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting, but the Pacers finished the [[1982–83 NBA season|1982–83 season]] with their all-time worst record of 20–62 and won only 26 games the [[1983–84 NBA season|following season]]. After winning 22 games in [[1984–85 NBA season|1984–85]] and 26 games in [[1985–86 NBA season|1985–86]], [[Jack Ramsay]] replaced [[George Irvine (basketball)|George Irvine]] as coach and led the Pacers to a 41–41 record in [[1986–87 NBA season|1986–87]] and their second playoff appearance as an NBA team. [[Chuck Person]], nicknamed "The Rifleman" for his renowned long-range shooting, led the team in scoring as a rookie and won NBA Rookie of the Year honors. Their first playoff win in NBA franchise history was earned in Game&nbsp;3 of their first-round, best-of-five series against the [[Atlanta Hawks]], but it was their only victory in that series, as the Hawks defeated them in four games.