Hall of Famer was former Mr. Basketball, Hoosier, Pacer
INDIANAPOLIS — George McGinnis, a Hall of Fame forward who was a two-time ABA champion and three-time All-Star in the NBA and ABA, died Thursday. He was 73.
The Indiana Pacers said he died early Thursday morning following complications from a cardiac arrest suffered last week at his home. McGinnis also struggled to walk in recent years after undergoing multiple back surgeries because of a hereditary condition.
His uniquely deep, deliberate voice, warm personality and passion for the sport helped him create a tight bond with the fans around his basketball-rich home state, Indiana. Here, they watched McGinnis’ development from Indianapolis prep star into an unstoppable force in his one and only college season at Indiana University before eventually taking the Indiana Pacers to those two titles.
“From his all-state high school days to his time as an IU All-American and, of course, to his legendary ABA championship runs with the Pacers, George McGinnis shaped so many of the fondest basketball memories for generations of Hoosiers,” said a statement from the Simon Family and Pacers Sports & Entertainment. “He was the very definition of an Indiana basketball legend, a champion, and Hall of Fame athlete.”
McGinnis put together a sterling resume few could match — even today.
It all started with McGinnis taking advantage of Spencer Haywood’s Supreme Court victory in 1971 that allowed underclassmen to turn pro based on a hardship case.
McGinnis wound up signing with his hometown team, two years after his father had been killed when he fell off a scaffold while working as a carpenter. His trademark one-handed jump shot helped him become an instant cornerstone in Indiana’s two title runs as well as the Philadelphia 76ers turnaround in the mid-1970s.
The result: He earned multiple all-ABA and all-NBA honors and was named the 1973