The Indiana Pacers don’t have the luxury of easing into this season.
After last year’s gap-year reset, they’re back with essentially the same core that reached the Finals in 2024-25, plus two notable additions in Ivica Zubac and Kelly Oubre. The Zubac deal looks like a steal, but this is still a win-now roster, not one built around a fresh wave of youth. That matters, because if Indiana stumbles again, there isn’t a younger star waiting in the wings to become the next path forward.
That’s why the pressure is squarely on the Pacers to chase a top seed in a crowded Eastern Conference. The conference is loaded, with the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks sitting near the front of the pack.
Indiana can’t afford a slow start or a long adjustment period. The rust has to come off immediately.
The numbers behind that urgency are blunt. In NBA history, only three teams have won a championship without finishing as a top-three seed, and the most recent example was the 1995 Houston Rockets, who were also the defending champions. The message is hard to ignore: if you want to be taken seriously as a title team, you need to be near the top of your conference.
That leaves a narrow lane for Indiana. LeBron James’ teams have a history of coasting through the regular season, and the Sixers have major injury concerns to manage, so neither looks like a lock to push for the top.
The Knicks may also be dealing with some championship hangover. In that space, only a few teams can realistically chase the best seed: the defending top-seed Detroit Pistons, the defensive force Atlanta Hawks, the always-relevant Boston Celtics, and the Pacers.
Indiana’s challenge is obvious. Against that kind of competition, the Pacers won’t have the best talent.
They won’t have the deepest roster. They don’t even have a top-10 player to lean on.
Those gaps don’t usually disappear on their own, and this season isn’t built for waiting around.
What can change the equation is home court throughout the playoffs. That’s the prize, and it’s the reason the Pacers have to treat the regular season like it matters from the jump.
Last year was the gap year. The losing has already been cleared out.
Now the season depends on playing as well as possible, as early as possible.
In Other News...
Pacers Suddenly Have A Real Battle Behind Ivica Zubac
Training camp is going to bring a real competition for the Pacers backup center minutes, and it is one of the quieter roster battles worth watching as the frontcourt takes shape. General manager Chad Buchanan said the spot behind Ivica Zubac is open, with Larry Nance Jr., Jay Huff and Obi Toppin all in the mix after Indiana added Nance as its latest frontcourt piece.
Nance arrived after the Pacers waived Micah Potter to make room, a move that underscored how much the team valued the veteran big mans fit and experience. Buchanan also pointed to Nance as the best available frontcourt option on the market, and the expectation is that he will try to turn that opportunity into a bounce-back season while Indiana sorts out how the minutes behind Zubac will be divided. [Read more 🡒]
Kelly Oubre Jr. Is Already Forcing A Tough Pacers Decision
Kelly Oubre Jr. arrived in Indiana with a rsum that makes him more than just another offseason addition, and that is already creating a real test for the Pacers as they sort out training camp. The team is trying to fold in a player who has spent much of his career as a starter while also protecting the rhythm of a group that already has established pieces in place, which is exactly the kind of balancing act that can define the first weeks of a season.
Rick Carlisle will have to manage the moving parts carefully, because this is less about simply adding talent than about fitting the right pieces together without upsetting the flow. Oubres role will be one of the more closely watched decisions in camp, with Indiana weighing how to keep him engaged while still making sure the rotation works for the players already in the mix. [Read more 🡒]