Basketball Hall of Famer George McGinnis dead at 73

George McGinnis, a Hall of Fame forward who won two ABA titles and made three NBA All-Star teams, died on Thursday at age 73.

His cause of death was revealed to be complications from cardiac arrest, the Indiana Pacers announced.

McGinnis starred on the unbeaten Indianapolis George Washington High School basketball team, which won the1969 Indiana state title. He was named the state’s Mr. Basketball that same year before heading to Indiana University, where he led the Big Ten in both scoring and rebounding during his only varsity season.

He signed with the ABA’s Indiana Pacers before the 1971-72 season, and went on to win back-to-back titles. Before the NBA-ABA merger, he joined the Philadelphia 76ers in 1975. He also played with the Denver Nuggets before rejoining the Pacers (now in the NBA) for his final three seasons.

McGinnis made the All-Star team three times while in the ABA and then three more in the NBA.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 2017.

“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,” the Pacers 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,” the team continued. “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.”

The son of Willie and Burnie McGinnis, George married his high school sweetheart, Lynda, who died in 2019. He is survived by his sister, Bonnie.