LeBron James isn’t treating the Pacers like a feel-good comeback story. He’s treating them like a problem.
On the latest episode of the “Mind the Game” podcast, James tied Indiana’s ceiling directly to Tyrese Haliburton’s health, saying the Pacers can climb only as far as their point guard’s body will carry them. Haliburton missed the entire 2025-26 season after tearing his Achilles in the NBA Finals, but James said the early signs look encouraging.
“It’s all on the legs, and feet, and ankle, and Achilles of our guy Tyrese. That team is going to go as far as how healthy he is. From some of the clips that I’ve been seeing, he’s finally back on the court, playing five-on-five, getting up and down with the guys that are actually going to be playing,” said James on the ‘Mind the Game’ podcast.
That’s the part that makes Indiana dangerous again. Last season’s 19-63 finish left the Pacers 14th in the Eastern Conference, miles away from the league’s elite. But James pointed back to the version of this team that surged two seasons ago, when Haliburton’s pace and control turned Indiana into one of the league’s toughest offenses to chase.
“We know what we’ve seen out of the Pacers two years ago, and it was all predicated on his pace. His pace to be able to get the ball up the floor, or throw pitches ahead, or head-dribble-drive,” James added.
“His knowledge, his IQ of the game; it allowed them to be what they turned into to get to the Finals. Nobody can move the needle like Tyrese can, and he is the head of the snake.
We’ll see where he is physically, and if he’s anything close to where he was before, then they’re gonna put themselves in contention. You gotta really be ready to play them.”
Haliburton didn’t arrive in Indiana as the face of the franchise, but he became it quickly. In just four active seasons, he’s taken over the offense with a blend of ball handling, playmaking and feel that makes everything run faster and cleaner when he’s right. He has also had one of the strongest public defenders in James, who has openly backed him for a while and was among the first to respond when the Achilles injury hit.
The numbers from Haliburton’s last healthy season make it easy to see why James is so high on him. In 73 games in 2024-25, he averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks while shooting 47.3% from the field. Indiana finished fourth in the East at 50-32 that year and came within one win of a championship.
The Pacers aren’t exactly the same team around him now. They no longer have Myles Turner, but they do have Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac, Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard to help shoulder the load.
However the rest of the roster looks when the season opens, James made one thing clear: he’s not buying into any easy takes about Indiana. If Haliburton is close to himself again, the Pacers are back in the conversation.
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For Indiana, this is more than just another exhibition. The Thunder bring the kind of athletic, disruptive defense that can expose early-season issues, and Siakam figures to spend plenty of time navigating that challenge against Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. After earlier preseason tests and with the regular-season opener looming, it is the kind of matchup that can reveal where the Pacers are ahead of a tougher stretch. [Read more 🡒]