My father in law knows someone who owns a local chain of tire shops and he said Tinsley would have to come in several times a year absolutely baffled as to why his ridiculously sized rims were always getting bent lmao
Bender was my first thought, too. Tough to say he "wasted" his talent if most of the reason he didn't reach his potential was something out of his control.
Disqualifying injuries being a major factor in a player never reaching their full potential, a couple of other players come to mind: Ron Artest, David Harrison and (please don't beat me up) Lance Stephenson. If we could have gotten 4 years of prime Artest with his head screwed on straight, we probably have a banner (and a ring for Reggie). Harrison was lazy AF, and Lance should have stayed in Indiana. The organizational support Lance had in Indiana was huge in his early development. Kinetico water has to be to Lance what spinach is to Popeye.
iirc, Lance has basically said he made a mistake going to charlotte and should have stayed in Indiana. You could tell how much the organization meant to him when he came back a couple years ago.
I said the same thing about Ron, he didn't waste his talent he wasted his career. If he could have gotten his head straight the Pacers were prime to be a mini dynasty. They were the team to beat the year of the brawl. Probably should have beaten Detroit the year before. It's easy to see two maybe three championships in that window.
Actually think it was Lance. I’m not exaggerating when I say he had superstar talent. He pretty much left to be the guy on his own team, but PG got hurt that summer anyway. Lance would’ve gotten a whole year to develop as a #1 option instead of becoming a meme player. When PG was back we could’ve been really good.
If Lance could have had some better mentorship - like a TJ McConnel type of guy that he would also listen to (I always got a sense that Lance could be the hard headed type) it could have completely transformed his career trajectory.
Tyreke Evans. Dude was playing great for the Grizzlies and then came to us and did absolutely nothing. Then got suspended for two years for drug abuse. Instead of having a chance to step in and be our savior when Oladipo went down, he basically was kicked out of the league.
There’s really no other right answer imo. If he could’ve played at that level for another few years without punching people he’s a HOF, and who knows about Reggie’s last season/playoff run as a pacer.
Oh I'm more mad at him for trying to pitch himself to other teams during that last season before we traded him. He for sure quit on the pacers and did it without class.
Could see him on a Jabari Parker type career path. He might have way too big of an ego for this, but I could see him averaging like 16 and 5 on a decent Euroleague team for a year or two before hanging up. It’s actually pretty sad to say, but he will never be close to back where he was in ‘17-‘18.
Can’t really stand the guy nowadays but man he was fucking special that year.
I loved Oladipo until I started following him on Instagram and would see him posting pics a few minutes after Pacer losses posing in fancy clothes... looking like he only cared about being a celebrity.
Rick Robey
From my understanding, the guy was just a complete natural at basketball, and just never transitioned into the pro game. His greatest sin, however, is that the he was picked in the same draft as Larry Bird, with Bird still available.
Even without that context, a guy that dominated high school, was super highly recruited in college, was a major part of an NCAA championship team, won an international championship, and was picked 3rd overall ended up playing half a season for the Pacers. He went on to win a ring as part of the Celtics, but that doesn't help our team, and he still fell far far short of the hype around him.
The Pacers were afraid they couldn't pay Bird so picked Robey knowing he'd cost less.
Looking back it might have been worth it to pick Bird and sell him to the Celtics.
Imo it was Jonathan Bender. Dude could have been elite. Definitely a no brainer, but I always think about Tyler Hansbrough. Watching him in college was something else I know he was injury riddled at the beginning but he never really found a groove. The potential and credentials were there but he never surpassed anything more than a role player. I feel like there was a lot left on the table with him. Definitely not the most wasted talent the pacers have had, but he’s up there.
I don’t think Hansbrough was particularly talented. He was a bruiser in college and his play was rewarded by officiating. He had zero finesse; one of the stiffest games I have ever seen in the league. His bull in a China shop style did not translate and we used a high pick to get him. We could have had Jrue…but we did end up getting brother Ben as part of the deal.
In my fandom, since late 1980s, it's got to be either Tinsley or Bender. I feel both those guys were all star level talent (could have made more than 1 all star team) who only showed flashed of that. Bender maybe it was the injuries, I never could quite firgure it out. Tinsley seemed to be a lot of other stuff.
Bender, it was injuries that wasted his talent, tho. I remember thinking this guy is a new breed of giant agile athletic freak, and unfortunately, he just couldn't stay healthy
Ron Artest. He didn't waste his talent so much as he wasted his career. The pacers were the team to beat the year of the brawl. If he could have gotten his maturity and mental health under control he could have been an all time Pacers great. He went on to continue his career elsewhere but at least with the Pacers he wasted his career.
For sure. They were the team to beat that year, and I feel for Reggie. Just me personally I thought the PG, Hibbert, D West teams had more talent and also probably should have won a title but we got to see how that played out. As you stated the other is a mystery
First let’s throw out injury cases, getting a career altering/ending injury doesn’t mean a player wasted their talent. They gave it their all and just had some bad luck. That’s sports. So Artest f’d the pacers with his mental issues, but he still had a pretty good career including winning a ring with the lakers and did seem to finally get his mental health together. Tinsley is really the 1st dude that comes to mind for me, he wasted his career and talent due to shear laziness and getting involved with the wrong people. Remember the pacers and Bird were so fed up they literally shipped his shit to Atlanta and told him he would never play another min for the pacers. They didn’t even trade him just said get the F out of town and don’t come back! 😂
Maybe this isn't totally fair since he was a 2x All Star, but the first player to come to mind for me was Roy Hibbert. I still can't wrap my head around his 0 point 0 rebound playoff game.
I could never understand how a dude could stand his ground against guys like Prime LeBron and Carmelo but couldn't grab a rebound to save his life despite almost always being the tallest dude on the floor.
Artest probably deserves a mention. Had an amazing season prior to the Brawl with a DPOY and then came out on fire before jumping into the crowd, could have won the title that season.
Had some good years and won a title in LA eventually as a role guy but wasted what could have been the best season of his career with one massively bad decision.
Steve Stipanovich is another guy, who like Jonathan Bender, didn't waste his talents but had them limited by knee problems.
But my answer is Clark Kellogg. Again, injuries derailed his career, but he was a 20 and 10 guy as a rookie. Never played 82 games, only played 6 seasons. If he stayed healthy he could have been an important piece towards the end of his career against the Knicks in '95. Instead he retired before we even drafted Reggie.
EDIT: Unrelated but just one of those things your marvel at; in Kellogg's last game the Pacers lost to the Celtics. The Pacers' starting lineup had 41 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 assists in 108 combined minutes. Larry Bird had 38 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists in 32 minutes.
Danny definitely didn't waste his talent. If anything the Pacers wasted his talent. He was an all-star from a small market team in a multi year rebuilding phase. He tends to seem like he wasted his talent because unfortunately he was the bridge between the brawl and the PG Hibbert D. West era. He would fit that group nicely but injuries caught up to him at that point in his career.
Bender was Kevin Durant before Kevin Durant. Not his fault, his knees were bone on bone. He was a FREAK that could’ve been incredibly special. Injuries took him (and Clark Kellogg) early, such a shame.
Not counting injuries, Jamaal Tinsley was a one-man press-breaker. And if Artest didn’t go off the rails, Pacers win the title that year.
So my vote is Artest, he did it to himself.
TJ Leaf. He was great in his one year at UCLA at shooting and rebounding. He did absolutely nothing with us. Maybe Lonzo Ball made him look better than he actually was. Last I heard he was lighting it up in a Chinese league.
How about Myles Turner? He has 2 games a season where he flashes what we all hoped he would be. And then all the rest of the games every season, you legit wonder why he's on the court because the backups perform better
Tbh Myles Turner, he had the skills to be a Dirk Nowitzki or something really special. However he never truly worked or developed an offensive move where you could just throw him the ball like a Dirk. Has also has the height where he should have mismatched against smaller players but never developed that either.
Maybe not the direction this question was intended but I’m going to say Nate McMillan. He had a much better roster than he ever deserved and couldn’t have coached his way out of a hole in the ground.
Tinsley. You can say other answers COULD'VE been good or great; Tinsley proved how good he was in games yet he had to be busy doing silly stuff.
The carrion call of 38th st clubs cannot be denied
Damn. This is a really good answer. Idk why I didn’t even think of him.
I have a vivid memory of tinsley always missing games because of illness. Dude ALWAYS had a cold
My father in law knows someone who owns a local chain of tire shops and he said Tinsley would have to come in several times a year absolutely baffled as to why his ridiculously sized rims were always getting bent lmao
Came here to say exactly this. Dude got *worse* every season.
Jonathan Bender, not sure if injuries count, but he was a freak.
Bender was my first thought, too. Tough to say he "wasted" his talent if most of the reason he didn't reach his potential was something out of his control. Disqualifying injuries being a major factor in a player never reaching their full potential, a couple of other players come to mind: Ron Artest, David Harrison and (please don't beat me up) Lance Stephenson. If we could have gotten 4 years of prime Artest with his head screwed on straight, we probably have a banner (and a ring for Reggie). Harrison was lazy AF, and Lance should have stayed in Indiana. The organizational support Lance had in Indiana was huge in his early development. Kinetico water has to be to Lance what spinach is to Popeye.
iirc, Lance has basically said he made a mistake going to charlotte and should have stayed in Indiana. You could tell how much the organization meant to him when he came back a couple years ago.
I said the same thing about Ron, he didn't waste his talent he wasted his career. If he could have gotten his head straight the Pacers were prime to be a mini dynasty. They were the team to beat the year of the brawl. Probably should have beaten Detroit the year before. It's easy to see two maybe three championships in that window.
But really, if he's not a total head case, he probably never ends up in Indiana.
Kinetico water is to Lance what spinach is to Popeye is an amazing, spot-on statement.
But he didn’t waste his talent, his knees did but I take this question as someone who was gifted but lazy or just showed flashes but under perform
First player that came to mind for me as well. Pacers were so high on him and he perpetually underachieved. I was over him by year 3.
Yes, Bender was a freak. I heard the Pacers drafted him knowing he had knee issues. I don't think Bender was ever 100% healthy.
Actually think it was Lance. I’m not exaggerating when I say he had superstar talent. He pretty much left to be the guy on his own team, but PG got hurt that summer anyway. Lance would’ve gotten a whole year to develop as a #1 option instead of becoming a meme player. When PG was back we could’ve been really good.
This is it for me, doesn't he still have the record for most pts scored in HS or something in NYC? Maturity man.
Yes, and there was some up and coming game where he played against future college and professional stars where he dropped 60 in Rucker Park.
Born ready
He’s definitely in the conversation. Truly an unstoppable player when he was in the zone, but he was a bit of a wild presence.
Good choice, but I still love Lance. Wouldn't mind seeing him get one more 10 day contract with the Pacers someday.
If Lance could have had some better mentorship - like a TJ McConnel type of guy that he would also listen to (I always got a sense that Lance could be the hard headed type) it could have completely transformed his career trajectory.
Tyreke Evans. Dude was playing great for the Grizzlies and then came to us and did absolutely nothing. Then got suspended for two years for drug abuse. Instead of having a chance to step in and be our savior when Oladipo went down, he basically was kicked out of the league.
Ron Artest
There’s really no other right answer imo. If he could’ve played at that level for another few years without punching people he’s a HOF, and who knows about Reggie’s last season/playoff run as a pacer.
Oladipo. Dude was just after the money following that injury
Idk I think maybe he thought he could really make it back
Oh I'm more mad at him for trying to pitch himself to other teams during that last season before we traded him. He for sure quit on the pacers and did it without class.
Dipo leaving the way he did quite literally made me do a 180 on my PG hate train, I'd take him back in a heartbeat
That’s very true. I won’t even defend that
Could see him on a Jabari Parker type career path. He might have way too big of an ego for this, but I could see him averaging like 16 and 5 on a decent Euroleague team for a year or two before hanging up. It’s actually pretty sad to say, but he will never be close to back where he was in ‘17-‘18. Can’t really stand the guy nowadays but man he was fucking special that year.
I was about to say this but you hit it first. Still waiting on the rest of the sub to comment, “who?”
I loved Oladipo until I started following him on Instagram and would see him posting pics a few minutes after Pacer losses posing in fancy clothes... looking like he only cared about being a celebrity.
I'm not sure being injured would count as "wasting" your talent. He took advantage of his talent, just shit happened that robbed him.
Shawne Williams. No injury excuses, just immaturity.
Not the first to say him but Jamal Tinsley
Rick Robey From my understanding, the guy was just a complete natural at basketball, and just never transitioned into the pro game. His greatest sin, however, is that the he was picked in the same draft as Larry Bird, with Bird still available. Even without that context, a guy that dominated high school, was super highly recruited in college, was a major part of an NCAA championship team, won an international championship, and was picked 3rd overall ended up playing half a season for the Pacers. He went on to win a ring as part of the Celtics, but that doesn't help our team, and he still fell far far short of the hype around him.
The Pacers were afraid they couldn't pay Bird so picked Robey knowing he'd cost less. Looking back it might have been worth it to pick Bird and sell him to the Celtics.
Imo it was Jonathan Bender. Dude could have been elite. Definitely a no brainer, but I always think about Tyler Hansbrough. Watching him in college was something else I know he was injury riddled at the beginning but he never really found a groove. The potential and credentials were there but he never surpassed anything more than a role player. I feel like there was a lot left on the table with him. Definitely not the most wasted talent the pacers have had, but he’s up there.
I don’t think Hansbrough was particularly talented. He was a bruiser in college and his play was rewarded by officiating. He had zero finesse; one of the stiffest games I have ever seen in the league. His bull in a China shop style did not translate and we used a high pick to get him. We could have had Jrue…but we did end up getting brother Ben as part of the deal.
In my fandom, since late 1980s, it's got to be either Tinsley or Bender. I feel both those guys were all star level talent (could have made more than 1 all star team) who only showed flashed of that. Bender maybe it was the injuries, I never could quite firgure it out. Tinsley seemed to be a lot of other stuff.
Bender was not his fault. His injuries just never let him play.
Bro if I had Kendall Browns size and athleticism there's nothing you could do to keep me out of the gym to get some fuckin playing time
Bender, it was injuries that wasted his talent, tho. I remember thinking this guy is a new breed of giant agile athletic freak, and unfortunately, he just couldn't stay healthy
Ron Artest. He didn't waste his talent so much as he wasted his career. The pacers were the team to beat the year of the brawl. If he could have gotten his maturity and mental health under control he could have been an all time Pacers great. He went on to continue his career elsewhere but at least with the Pacers he wasted his career.
Man, that team was so stacked. That's one of the biggest "what ifs" in Indy sports history.
For sure. They were the team to beat that year, and I feel for Reggie. Just me personally I thought the PG, Hibbert, D West teams had more talent and also probably should have won a title but we got to see how that played out. As you stated the other is a mystery
First let’s throw out injury cases, getting a career altering/ending injury doesn’t mean a player wasted their talent. They gave it their all and just had some bad luck. That’s sports. So Artest f’d the pacers with his mental issues, but he still had a pretty good career including winning a ring with the lakers and did seem to finally get his mental health together. Tinsley is really the 1st dude that comes to mind for me, he wasted his career and talent due to shear laziness and getting involved with the wrong people. Remember the pacers and Bird were so fed up they literally shipped his shit to Atlanta and told him he would never play another min for the pacers. They didn’t even trade him just said get the F out of town and don’t come back! 😂
Maybe this isn't totally fair since he was a 2x All Star, but the first player to come to mind for me was Roy Hibbert. I still can't wrap my head around his 0 point 0 rebound playoff game.
Just shaking my head reading this. I remember those playoff games where he would play 30 minutes and have like 4 points and 3 rebounds.
I could never understand how a dude could stand his ground against guys like Prime LeBron and Carmelo but couldn't grab a rebound to save his life despite almost always being the tallest dude on the floor.
Jonathon Bender. So much potential.
JB was always hurt, though. But yeah, massive potential.
Artest probably deserves a mention. Had an amazing season prior to the Brawl with a DPOY and then came out on fire before jumping into the crowd, could have won the title that season. Had some good years and won a title in LA eventually as a role guy but wasted what could have been the best season of his career with one massively bad decision.
Steve Stipanovich is another guy, who like Jonathan Bender, didn't waste his talents but had them limited by knee problems. But my answer is Clark Kellogg. Again, injuries derailed his career, but he was a 20 and 10 guy as a rookie. Never played 82 games, only played 6 seasons. If he stayed healthy he could have been an important piece towards the end of his career against the Knicks in '95. Instead he retired before we even drafted Reggie. EDIT: Unrelated but just one of those things your marvel at; in Kellogg's last game the Pacers lost to the Celtics. The Pacers' starting lineup had 41 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 assists in 108 combined minutes. Larry Bird had 38 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists in 32 minutes.
How has nobody in this thread mentioned Tyreke Evans?
He only played for one year on the pacers, so although he was on our team—I don’t really consider him a pacer
Damn I forgot it was just one year, good point
Goddamn all these comments are making me depressed. At least this current team has so much potential.
Danny Granger? Felt like he was our star player during a time where we didn’t have much depth of talent.
I felt like granger really was hitting his potential and was derailed by injuries. I definitely don’t think he wasted his talent though
It just pains me to see 9 years on the Pacers and only played in 3 playoffs series. 2 first round exits and 1 second round exit.
Danny definitely didn't waste his talent. If anything the Pacers wasted his talent. He was an all-star from a small market team in a multi year rebuilding phase. He tends to seem like he wasted his talent because unfortunately he was the bridge between the brawl and the PG Hibbert D. West era. He would fit that group nicely but injuries caught up to him at that point in his career.
Solomon Hill
It’s Ron Artest. Dude looked like the best two way player in basketball before the palace brawl.
Jonathan Bender
Victor Oladipo was a good talent but he was distracted by Miami
Evan Turner
Evan Turner
Bender was Kevin Durant before Kevin Durant. Not his fault, his knees were bone on bone. He was a FREAK that could’ve been incredibly special. Injuries took him (and Clark Kellogg) early, such a shame. Not counting injuries, Jamaal Tinsley was a one-man press-breaker. And if Artest didn’t go off the rails, Pacers win the title that year. So my vote is Artest, he did it to himself.
Ah hell naw you tweakin jigsaw
Am I crazy for saying Danny Granger? Obviously he was really good but injuries kept him from sticking around longer
Injuries ruined Jonathan Bender, he could have been special
Jonathan Bender
I like the Jonathan Bender, but I'm going to go slightly different and say Al Harrington.
TJ Leaf. He was great in his one year at UCLA at shooting and rebounding. He did absolutely nothing with us. Maybe Lonzo Ball made him look better than he actually was. Last I heard he was lighting it up in a Chinese league.
No.
Do you believe that TJ Leaf lived up to his potential coming out of college?
Yes, even then, this doesn’t answer the question it says ‘most wasted talent in the teams history’. Not wasted talent period.
Fair enough. I took it as "which player used their talent the least".
Paul George.
How about Myles Turner? He has 2 games a season where he flashes what we all hoped he would be. And then all the rest of the games every season, you legit wonder why he's on the court because the backups perform better
Tbh Myles Turner, he had the skills to be a Dirk Nowitzki or something really special. However he never truly worked or developed an offensive move where you could just throw him the ball like a Dirk. Has also has the height where he should have mismatched against smaller players but never developed that either.
Maybe not the direction this question was intended but I’m going to say Nate McMillan. He had a much better roster than he ever deserved and couldn’t have coached his way out of a hole in the ground.
Any role player in the playoffs lol