Hall of Famer, ABA champion George McGinnis dies at 73

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..

“George McGinnis shaped so many of the fondest basketball memories for generations of Hoosiers,” the Simon family and Pacers Sports & Entertainment said in a statement. “He was the very definition of an Indiana basketball legend, a champion, and Hall of Fame athlete. But he was more than that. George was family. A passionate advocate for his fellow ABA players and a present, smiling face around the franchise, George has been as synonymous with our Pacers franchise as anyone. He will be greatly missed, and all of us at Pacers Sports & Entertainment will keep George and his family in our prayers.”

Remembering George McGinnis:

▪️ Indiana Mr. Basketball
▪️ IU All-American
▪️ 2x ABA Champion
▪️ 3x ABA All-Star
▪️ 3x NBA All-Star
▪️ Hall of Famer

Legend ???? pic.twitter.com/4zviz4HIdo

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 14, 2023

McGinnis played for the Pacers over two stints in the ABA and NBA. He won ABA titles with the Pacers in 1972 and 1973, being named playoff MVP for the second championship run. He also was the ABA co-MVP in 1974-75 — sharing the honor with Julius Erving — when he averaged a career-high 29.8 points per game.

He joined the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1975, where he was an All-Star in back-to-back seasons before leaving the team in 1978. McGinnis was traded to the Denver Nuggets (1978-80), earning another All-Star nod, before finishing his career with the Pacers (1980-82).

McGinnis was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2017, and the Pacers have retired his No. 30.

Prior to the NBA, McGinnis was a third-team All-American at Indiana in 1970-71 after leading the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding.

The Pacers said McGinnis would have a private burial but that a celebration of life would be held next year.