Rumors

The Indiana Pacers will host a celebration of life for George McGinnis on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Door will open at 1 p.m. and parking is available in the Virginia Avenue garage, which is connected to The Fieldhouse. If you cannot make it, the organization plans to stream it online as well.

Fieldhouse Files

Tony East: Pacers uniform updates for tonight: -Their new jersey patch partner, Spokenote, will be on the jerseys for the first time. -A stripe with the number 30 on it to honor George McGinnis has been added.

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Mark Montieth: A private funeral service for @George McGinnis was conducted in Indianapolis today. A public service will be held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on January 7. Time has not yet been determined.

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Law Murray: RIP George McGinnis pic.twitter.com/Qo3md993st

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Hall of Fame basketball player George McGinnis, a two-time ABA champion with the Indiana Pacers who also found success after making the move to the NBA, has died at the age of 73. The Pacers announced that McGinnis died Thursday morning. He had been hospitalized after suffering cardiac arrest last week at his home..

ESPN

On Tuesday IU Athletics announced the one-and-done phenom George McGinnis will be inducted into its Hall of Fame in September.

thedailyhoosier.com

Del Harris on Peter Vecsey: I want to begin by saying I first met Peter almost 50 years ago when he brought a group of good players from New York City’s Rucker Park, including Tiny Archibald, to the Dominican Republic to play against the DR national team to help prepare them for the Central American Championships. I had contacts in the DR and they asked if Tom Nissalke and I could bring some Rockets during this off-season time to play as well. They paid money in DR pesos, but that is another story. It was a good thing to do for everyone and DR won the championship. That was all good. The Rockets were in receivership when Tom asked me to come there with him from the (ABA’s) Utah Stars. We had a great first year because we traded two future first-round picks (1977, ’78) for Moses Malone at the start of the season. He had been with us in the short time we were at the Stars. Getting what would become an all-time great was not the only boost — we drafted John Lucas in our first round, giving us a great feeder for the big guy and we had very good players who were excellent shooters all around with them. We lost in the 1977 Eastern Conference finals in six to Philadelphia with Dr. J (Julius Erving), George McGinnis, Bobby Jones, Doug Collins and others. Tom was named the 1977 NBA Coach of the Year.

edodevenreporting.com

They had plenty of help. Dropping Dimes has an advisory board backed by big names in sports, media and basketball. Among them are Bob Costas, Reggie Miller, George McGinnis, Julius Erving, Myles Turner, Peter Vecsey and Bob Netolicky. "They all came together," Tarter said. "It was kind of a labor of love."

USA Today Sports

Walt Frazier Enterprises was a landmark. It had an office on Park Avenue. Frazier was its namesake and its face. He owned a third of it. Billy Cunningham, then a 76ers star, owned a third as well. Irwin Weiner, the actual agent in the midst, owned the other portion. Together, they represented some of the league’s top players, from Julius Erving to George McGinnis and George Gervin, at a time when there were few agents even around. “They set the tone for how things are operating now,” Mychal Thompson, one of its clients, said.

The Athletic

Jon Johnson: Last night Joel Embiid recorded his 2,000th rebound, becoming the fastest player to do so since Tim Duncan in 1999. Fastest to 2,000 in Sixers history: George McGinnis (168 games) Joel Embiid (174 games)

Twitter

If you've ever strolled through the IMS Pavillion on the main concourse of Bankers Life Fieldhouse, you've probably stopped to admire the mural that's painted on the wall near the escalators. The mural pays homage to Pacers greats like Reggie Miller, George McGinnis, Mel Daniels, Roger Brown and more. But what most admirers of the piece may not know is that the artist, Indianapolis native Pamela Bliss, is currently in Los Angeles hoping a movie that she contributed to wins an Oscar at the Academy Awards.

NBA.com

Scott Agness: Pacers great George McGinnis, an Indianapolis native, is part of the 2017 Class of Naismith Hall of Fame inductees. He's a 2-time ABA Champ.

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Mark Montieth: George McGinnis was the only ABA or NBA league MVP not in Hall of Fame among eligible players. He shared honor with Julius Erving in 1975.

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