INDIANAPOLIS — Family, friends and fans of basketball legend George McGinnis gathered at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to honor his life on Sunday. McGinnis passed away at age 73 in December.
"George McGinnis was a magnificent basketball player," said Mark Boyle, the "Voice of the Pacers." "George McGinnis was a much better man."
At his celebration of life, friends shared fond memories.
"We just had good times, water skiing together. I'll never forget those trips," former teammate Jim Arnold said.
"He was naturally funny; I mean, he could have you laughing. If you were around Mac, your laughing muscles were guaranteed a workout," former teammate Clark Kellogg said.
Every person celebrating him not only talked about his love for basketball, but how he was a part of their families.
"They made a poster, it had at least eight faces of George on it, and I brought it home. When I went into the family room and I laid it on the sofa, my son, Tommy, walked in and picked it up, and he says, 'Mom, this belongs on the family shelf,'" Nancy Leonard said.
As No. 30 lives on in basketball history, McGinnis' memory lives on in the ones closest to him.
"I celebrate you, Big Mac," Kellogg said.
McGinnis led George Washington High School to the state basketball championship in 1969, earning Mr. Basketball honors in the state, as well as being named Mr. Basketball USA.
He then played one season of varsity basketball at Indiana University. That season, he led the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding, averaging 29.9 points and 14.7 rebounds as a sophomore in 1970-71.
He left Bloomington with two years of eligibility remaining, due to hardship, and signed with the Pacers, who then played in the American Basketball Association. He led the Pacers to two ABA championships while playing four years under coach Bobby "Slick" Leonard and was named co-MVP with Julius Irving after the 1974-75 season.
He moved to the NBA in 1976, playing seven years in the league, scoring more than 17,000 points in his 11 seasons of professional basketball.
McGinnis was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, the seventh person with IU basketball connections named to the hall.
This fall, McGinnis was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame.
McGinnis is one of four Pacers — Roger Brown, Mel Daniels and Reggie Miller — to have his Pacers jersey (No. 30) retired.