The Indiana Pacers head into the season with a familiar worry hanging over them: what happens behind Ivica Zubac?
ESPN’s Ben Golliver called out the team’s interior depth as a lingering problem, pointing to how that weakness showed up at times against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals. The issue, in Golliver’s view, is that Indiana does not have many reliable answers if Zubac is forced into heavy minutes or misses time.
"Indiana's frontcourt was regularly bullied last season, and coach Rick Carlisle doesn't have many great options behind Zubac," Ben Golliver of ESPN wrote. "If Haliburton hits the ground running and has the Pacers back in the playoff picture, perhaps the front office can line up some fortifications at the trade deadline."
Zubac is the centerpiece of that conversation now. He appeared in only five games for Indiana last season, putting up 11.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 47.2% from the field and 80.0 % from the free-throw line. His career line sits at 10.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game across stops with the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers and Pacers.
Indiana’s decision to trade for Zubac also came with a cost that still stings. On Mother's Day during the draft lottery, the Pacers lost their 2026 first-round pick to the Clippers after finishing fifth and missing the top four.
The pick had been tied to the Zubac deal, and Indiana needed to stay in the top four to keep it. The trade sent two first-rounders to Los Angeles: one in 2029 and either this year's first if it fell outside the top four or a 2031 unprotected first-rounder if it did not.
That lottery outcome meant the Pacers passed on the chance to draft AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer or Caleb Wilson. Instead, they are banking on Zubac delivering like an All-Star alongside Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton.
The bet is built on what Zubac has already shown. He arrived last season after a breakout run in which he finished fourth in the league in rebounding at 12.6 per game and earned second-team All-Defense honors. He was on track for a second straight double-double before injuries got in the way and the Clippers moved him to Indiana.
Now the Pacers need him to be the anchor in the middle as they try to climb back toward contention with their core healthy. His rebounding and defense will matter just as much as the scoring.
Indiana also made three additions this offseason: Larry Nance Jr., Kelly Oubre Jr. and Braden Smith. The projected 2026-27 rotation includes a deep bench group of TJ McConnell, Ben Sheppard, Kelly Oubre, Obi Toppin, Jay Huff, Braden Smith, Quenton Jackson, Kobe Brown, Jarace Walker, Larry Nance Jr., Jalen Slawson and Johnny Furphy.
And of course, the bigger spotlight still sits on Haliburton. He has career averages of 17.5 points and 8.8 assists in the regular season, along with 17.9 points and 8.4 assists in the playoffs. The league is waiting to see him back on the floor.
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Haliburton still looked like the center of attention the moment he checked in, and he even scored Indianas first points of the night. The Pacers are taking a careful approach as he rebuilds strength and gets his rhythm back, so the bigger storyline now is not just that he returned, but how the team handles his minutes from here with opening night drawing closer. [Read more 🡒]