A resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Indiana Pacers' 1972-1973 American Basketball Association Championship and their third American Basketball Association Championship in 5 seasons.

Bill: 118-sres-228
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Braun, Mike [R-IN]
Introduced: 2023-05-31
Policy area: Sports and Recreation
Latest action: action_date: 2023-05-31
text: Referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text: CR S1848)

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-05-31
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p>This resolution recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Indiana Pacers' third American Basketball Association title and championship.</p>

tv_txt: III 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 228 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 31 (legislative day, May 30), 2023 Mr. Braun (for himself and Mr. Young ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation RESOLUTION Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Indiana Pacers' 1972–1973 American Basketball Association Championship and their third American Basketball Association Championship in 5 seasons.

Whereas the Indiana Pacers were founded in 1967, as members of the American Basketball Association; Whereas the Indiana Pacers won American Basketball Association Championships in the 1969–1970, 1971–1972, and 1972–1973 seasons and had 2 other championship appearances; Whereas, during the seasons between 1970 and 1975, the Indiana Pacers averaged 51 wins per season; Whereas Mel Daniels, Freddie Lewis, Roger Brown, and Billy Keller were members of all 3 Indiana Pacers championship teams; Whereas the 1973 Indiana Pacers championship team had a strong native Hoosier presence on the team; Whereas the 1973 Indiana Pacers championship team was built around George McGinnis, who attended George Washington Community High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, and later attended Indiana University; Whereas Billy Keller attended George Washington Community High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, and later attended Purdue University; Whereas Don Buse attended Holland High School in Holland, Indiana, and Evansville College in Evansville, Indiana; Whereas, during the 1972–1973 season, Don Buse, a rookie, made several contributions, and Gus Johnson, a National Basketball Association veteran at the end of his career, was brought onto the team to bring bench strength and leadership; Whereas the revived group finished with a 51 to 33 record after winning 11 consecutive games late in the 1972–1973 season, the fourth-best record in the league behind the Carolina Cougars and the Kentucky Colonels in the East and the Utah Stars in the West; Whereas the Indiana Pacers took control of the 1972–1973 series by winning Game 4 on the home court of the Houston Rockets, as Billy Keller hit a game-winning 3-pointer from the left wing off a broken play with 14 seconds left for a 97 to 95 victory; Whereas that shot gained historical value in passing years because William Robert Slick Leonard rose off the bench and shouted, Boom, Baby! as the ball dropped through the net; Whereas Boom, Baby! would become William Robert Slick Leonard's signature call as a broadcaster on every 3-pointer by the Indiana Pacers in following decades; Whereas, on May 12, 1973, the Indiana Pacers beat the Kentucky Colonels 88 to 81 in Game 7 of the American Basketball Association Championship; and Whereas that win gave the Indiana Pacers their third and final American Basketball Association title, the most titles held by a team in the history of the American Basketball Association: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the Senate that— (1) basketball has a rich history and passionate fan base in the Hoosier State and the Indiana Pacers have highlighted that rich history during the time in which they participated in the American Basketball Association; and (2) the history of the Indiana Pacers and their storied legacy should be recognized, especially during 2023, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Indiana Pacers' third and last American Basketball Association title and championship.