George McGinnis, a basketball hall of famer, passed away at the age of 73.
The Indiana Pacers made the announcement Thursday morning.
According to ESPN, McGinnis was admitted to the hospital after going into cardiac arrest at his house last week.
McGinnis succumbed to complications from a cardiac arrest suffered last week at his home,” the Pacers said in their press release. “He was taken to Community North Hospital where family, friends and former teammates maintained a vigil of support until his passing.”
McGinnis began his professional basketball career with the Pacers in the ABA in 1971 — before the league merged with the NBA.
Having played at Indiana University and George Washington High School in Indianapolis, he was a hometown hero.
McGinnis starred on a Pacers team that won ABA championships in 1972 and 1973, winning the playoffs MVP in the latter year as he averaged 23.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per game in the postseason.
The following season he would be the ABA MVP and scoring champion, averaging 29.8 points per game.
“From his all-state high school days to his time as an IU All-American and, of course, to his legendary ABA championship runs with the Pacers, George McGinnis shaped so many of the fondest basketball memories for generations of Hoosiers,” Simon Family and Pacers Sports & Entertainment said in a statement.
He was a champion and an athlete deserving of the Hall of Fame, the epitome of an Indiana basketball great. He was more than that, though. George was a member of the family. As much of a fixture on the Pacers team as anyone, George is a devoted supporter of his fellow ABA players and a constant source of joy.
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