Hoops Hobby

I’ve been putting more focus on targeting Pacers autographs lately, as some of the inserts and parallels I’m after are becoming tougher to track down and pick up, especially at a reasonable price. And, it’s fun to switch things up sometimes. It keeps the hobby fresh.

Just a reminder of my priority for picking up autographs;

1. Certified Pacers autographs
2. Non-Certified Pacers autograph that I have personally obtained (in person or TTM)
3. Certified Non-Pacers autographs
4. Non-Certified Non-Pacers autographs that I have personally obtained (in person or TTM)
5. Non-Certified Pacers autographs that I have not personally obtained
6. Non-Certified Non-Pacers autographs that I have not personally obtained

And as always, thanks to TCDB and Basketball Reference for the wealth of information.

Autographs of Pacers with Last Name starting with ‘D’ – 7 of 19, 17.6% Complete

As always, first, the players I have autographs for.

Marquis Daniels

I’m actually waiting on a 2007-08 Ultra SE Autographics card of Marquis, but it seems like it may be lost in the mail. I do have an in-person autograph on an index card I had signed at a Pacers game, likely because he didn’t have any Pacers cards yet, or I hadn’t picked up any yet. It was my poor attempt at custom index cards at the time, but it did the job!

Mel Daniels

I’ve shared this Mel Daniels autograph from 2006-07 Upper Deck Chronology several times on Instagram, and on this blog as well. It’s one of the prizes in my Pacers autograph collection. Few players mean more to the franchise than Mel Daniels. He led the Pacers to three ABA titles in the early 1970s, was a 2-time ABA MVP, and is the ABA’s all-time leader in total rebounds.

I love the on-card autographs from this set. I have several other Pacers as well, including Don Buse, George McGinnis and Wayman Tisdale. That’s all the legend Pacers autographs from the set.

Antonio Davis

Antonio doesn’t have any certified Pacers autographs, despite being with the team for a good portion of the 90s. If I remember right, I picked up this autographed 2003-04 Fleer Authentix card in a trade through an online message board.

AD has certified autographs with UTEP, the Raptors, Bulls and Knicks. My favorite of the group is a 1999-00 SP Authentic Sign of the Times autograph that I’d like to add at some point, or get a 1997-98 Fleer Pacers card signed, ideally.

Dale Davis

To me there’s not a more perfect autograph set to collect than a 90s Skybox Autographics set. Most of the key 90s Pacers are there, the autographs are on card, and it’s a simple yet solid card design. This 1998-99 Dale Davis is one I picked up over 10 years ago, and it’s still one of my favorites, probably in the top 10. He has a sticker autograph in a recent Illusions set, but to me that one doesn’t touch the Autographics set.

Ike Diogu

While I have three Ike Diogu autographs, I would feel good about moving on from the Warriors Ultimate Collection autograph, now that I have the 2008-09 Upper Deck Star Signings that I added recently. I’ve had the Granger/Diogu dual auto card for quite some time, but wanted to get a Pacers autograph of Diogu by himself as well.

Diogu came over from the Warriors with Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy that saw Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson go to the Warriors. Losing Harrington for the second time was disappointing, and the team as a whole after that trade was fairly disappointing, outside of Danny Granger.

Ike ultimately never carved out a significant role with the Pacers before the team traded him to Portland in 2008.

Greg Dreiling

Dreiling played for the Pacers in the late 80s and early 90s, starting 42 games in the 90-91 season, and is still an excellent through the mail signer. If I remember right, I received this one in a message board trade in the 2000s sometime.

He is included in a 2013 Upper Deck Kansas set with an autograph, but I’m content with the Fleer autograph above. I might send a TTM request to attempt to get a card signed myself.

Mike Dunleavy Jr

I’ve made it no secret how much I enjoy the 2001-02 Topps Pristine Autograph set. The 2002-03 set isn’t too bad, though it’s not the 2001-02 set. It’s an acetate on card autograph, and I believe I picked this one up just after Dunleavy was traded to the Pacers. I’m still in need of a Pacers certified autograph, of which he has several from the 2010-11 season.

Next, the players I am missing, 12 in total.

Certified Pacers Autographs

Chris Duarte – Obviously has a plethora of Pacers certified autographs, and although I have a dozen or so Duarte cards, I haven’t added the now Sacramento King to the collection as of yet. This goes for most of the current players and rookies from the past several years. In fact, the only current Pacer I have an autograph of is the longest tenured, Myles Turner.

Certified Non-Pacers Autographs

Erick Dampier – Drafted by the Pacers in 1996 and played for the Pacers during the 1996-97 before being traded to the Golden State Warriors in the offseason for a veteran Chris Mullin. Mullin ended up being a key piece of the late 90s Pacers playoff runs.

Dampier has certified NBA autographs with the Mavericks and Warriors, most from Panini era products, but none with the Pacers. He also has unlicensed Scoreboard autographs where Dampier is clearly wearing a Pacers jersey but the team name is not shown, no logos. One of these might be the best option for a Pacers collector right now. The other best option in my opinion would be a 1998-99 SP Authentic Sign of the Times, which is a Warriors card but would fit in with the types of autographs I like to pick up for my favorite Pacers during that time.

Adrian Dantley – ‘The Teacher’ has plenty of certified autographs, none with the Pacers, and no NBA cards with the Pacers, since he was only on the team for part of one season in 1977, despite averaging 26.5 points per game and over 9 rebounds over 23 games. He is, however, also an excellent through the mail signer.

Ollie (Oliver) Darden – Included in the 2020 Lana Sports ABA set as a Pacer (non-auto), and he is a part of a Michigan set from 2004 with an autograph. Pretty fun card, and the blue and gold would fit in well with the rest of the Pacers autographs.

Darden played for the Pacers for the 1967-68 season, averaging 12 points per game and almost 7 rebounds as a rookie. Played for several teams before signing back with the Pacers for the second half 1969-70 season, playing over 11 minutes per game for the 1970 ABA Champions.

Brad Davis – Brad is included in several autographed Panini era sets as a Maverick, but doesn’t have any cards where is featured as a Pacer. He is a good TTM signer, so I may try to go the custom card route here.

Travis Diener – Plenty of Magic autographed cards. Has Pacers cards in early Panini era. The 2009-10 Panini card would be my preferred card to have signed. Always appreciated Diener’s play as a backup point guard in the 2000s. He’s been a staple of the Marquette alumni team in TBT, including when they won the tournament in 2020.

Players with Pacers Cards

Johnny Davis – The father of current Washington Wizard second year player, Johnny Davis. He won a championship with Bill Walton’s Blazers in 1977 as a rookie. Averaged over 18 points and nearly 6 assists a game in his best statistical season for the Pacers in 1978-79. He coached as both an assistant and head coach for numerous NBA teams between 1990 and 2014.

Davis is included in several Topps sets as a Pacer from the late 70s, early 80s.

Jim Dawson – Dawson played 21 games for the Pacers during the 1967-68 season, before being traded along with a first round pick for Mel Daniels in 1968.

Dawson is included in a Lana Sports box set release from 2020, which has a handful or so of parallel versions.

Devin Durrant – These mid-80s Star sets are a treasure trove of Pacers cards. Durrant is included in the 1984-85 Star set, a rookie card and the only year he played for the Pacers.

Players with Cards, Not Pacers

Byron Dinkins – Played for three teams over the course of two seasons, two games of which were for the Pacers. Followed up his NBA career with a very successful run in Greece.

Dinkins, a Charlotte, NC native, was included in 1990-91 Hoops, as well as a CBA set in 1991-92.

John Duren – Played a full season with the Pacers, starting 24 games in 1982-83, after coming into the league with the Jazz in 1980. Appears in a Georgetown collegiate set.

Players with No NBA/ABA Cards

Don Dee – Played for the Pacers during the 1968-69 season, and represented the United States in the 1968 Olympic Games, winning the Gold Medal in Mexico City. He passed away in 2014 at the age of 71.