1990–91 Indiana Pacers season

The 1990–91 Indiana Pacers season was the 15th season for the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association, and their 24th season as a franchise. During the off-season, the Pacers signed free agent Michael Williams.

With the addition of Michael Williams, the Pacers struggled with a 9–16 start to the regular season, as head coach Dick Versace was fired and replaced with Bob Hill. Under Hill, the team held a 19–27 record at the All-Star break, posted a six-game winning streak in February, and played above .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season. The Pacers finished in fifth place in the Central Division with a 41–41 record, and earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

Reggie Miller averaged 22.6 points, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and led the Pacers with 112 three-point field goals, while Chuck Person averaged 18.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and sixth man Detlef Schrempf provided the team with 16.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game off the bench, and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. In addition, Vern Fleming provided with 12.7 points and 5.3 assists per game, while Michael Williams contributed 11.1 points, 4.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and Rik Smits averaged 10.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Meanwhile, LaSalle Thompson averaged 7.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, Mike Sanders contributed 5.8 points per game, second-year guard George McCloud contributed 4.6 points per game, and Greg Dreiling provided with 3.5 points and rebounds per game each.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, rookie power forward, and second-round draft pick Kenny Williams participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Despite stellar seasons, neither Miller or Person were selected for the 1991 NBA All-Star Game.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1991 NBA playoffs, the Pacers faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Boston Celtics, who were led by the quartet of All-Star forward, and former Indiana State University star, Larry Bird, Reggie Lewis, All-Star forward and sixth man Kevin McHale, and All-Star center Robert Parish. The Celtics took a 2–1 series lead, but the Pacers managed to win Game 4 at home, 116–113 at the Market Square Arena to even the series. In Game 5 at the Boston Garden, and during the second quarter, Bird fell down on the court and landed hard on the right side of his face, as he had to go to the locker room; despite the injury, Bird returned to the game and finished with 32 points, as the Celtics defeated the Pacers, 124–121. The Pacers lost to the Celtics in a hard-fought five-game series.

The Pacers finished 25th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 465,650 at the Market Square Arena during the regular season, which was the third-lowest in the league. For the season, the Pacers changed their primary logo, removing the arm from the letter "P" from the previous logo, and changed their uniforms, replacing the color blue with dark navy blue to their color scheme of golden yellow. The team's new primary logo would remain in use until 2005, while the new uniforms would last until 1997.