Billy Knight was the Indiana Pacers' most underrated player
Billy Knight made a huge impact on the Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are one of those franchises no one really talks about. It could be the lack of championships or superstars acquired.
Even though they may not be remembered for having exciting moments, they still became threats in the league here and there. Obviously, they had the pleasure of featuring Reggie Miller, one of the greatest shooters of all-time. But they also possessed athletes such as Danny Granger, Jermaine O’Neal, and Paul George.
However, one of the players that never gets recognized is small forward Billy Knight.
When Knight got drafted in the 1974 NBA Draft as the 21st pick, he made an immediate impact. Averaging 17 points and seven rebounds, he made the ABA All-Rookie First while the Pacers made the 1975 ABA Finals. Unfortuantely, they fell to the then-existing Kentucky Colonels, 1-4.
Knight never took his foot off of the gas pedal. He led the Pacers in scoring in 1976, 1977, and 1981 (28 points, 26 points, and 17 points, respectively). Although he doesn’t have a ton of awards to his name, he made the All-Star team twice (1976, 1977) while being named to the All-ABA First Team in 1976.
During his time in Indiana, he averaged 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, and 0.2 blocks.
Another reason Knight might not get the attention he deserves is because of his lack of playoff appearances. Out of his eight seasons with the Pacers, they only made the postseason three times. In the playoffs, though, he averaged 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and 0.2 steals.
Knight is currently the Pacers’ third all-time leader in points (10,780) and their seventh all-time leader in steals (651).
Cory Nelson is a contributor to Sports Illustrated’s channel “Inside The Heat”. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson and Instagram @ckenzynelson