In a summer packed with seismic moves, the conversation has drifted away from the Indiana Pacers’ core - even after their run ended with a Game 7 loss in the NBA Finals. The league’s attention has been pulled elsewhere by the kind of transactions that remake entire conferences.
Kawhi Leonard was traded back to the Toronto Raptors after the Clippers chose a rebuild. Giannis Antetokounmpo was dealt to the Miami Heat after saying goodbye to the franchise that drafted him thirteen seasons ago. Boston’s “The J’s” split when Jaylen Brown was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers, former Pacer Paul George landed with the Boston Celtics, and LeBron James returned to the East with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Even with all that movement, the East’s favorite heading into the season will still be the reigning NBA Champions, the New York Knicks. Jalen Brunson is fresh off Eastern Conference and NBA Finals MVP honors, Karl Anthony Towns remains one of the league’s premier bigs in the East, and OG Anunoby keeps building his reputation as one of the game’s best two-way forwards.
Those names deserve the spotlight. But the player who keeps slipping through the cracks is the 2025 Eastern Conference MVP, Pascal Siakam.
Indiana’s 2024 winter trade for the 2019 NBA champion changed the direction of the franchise. The Pacers rode his championship experience to the Eastern Conference Finals, then carried that momentum into the next season and all the way to a Game 7 in the NBA Finals with Tyrese Haliburton as the face of the team.
Haliburton’s 2025 playoff run was huge, but it doesn’t happen without Siakam doing heavy lifting alongside him. Indiana depended on Siakam’s scoring because he is the team’s best one-on-one option. Just as important, he was everywhere defensively.
His playoff assignments tell the story. Siakam started the postseason guarding Giannis in Round 1.
In Round 2, he drew Evan Mobley. In the Conference Finals, he spent time on OG Anunoby before shifting primarily to Karl Anthony-Towns after Myles Turner had trouble containing him.
Then in the NBA Finals, Siakam took on Chet Holmgren when the Thunder went big, and he also found himself matched up with Jalen Williams when Nesmith struggled with Williams’ size.
All of that came while Siakam was still carrying a major offensive burden, even with Haliburton sharing the load. Last season, when Haliburton was out, Siakam had even more on his plate and put together one of his strongest statistical years. That performance earned him a place in the 2026 NBA All-Star game, thanks to the coaches who voted him in, despite Indiana’s poor record.
The numbers from the 2024-25 postseason back up the eye test. Among starting forwards, Siakam finished ninth in defensive rating, 13th in offensive rating, and ninth in net rating. Over 23 playoff games, he shot 51.3% from the field, 42.7% from three, and 71.3% from the line, while averaging 6.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.7 blocks.
Among starting forwards who took at least 10 field goal attempts per game, only Jayson Tatum, Chet Holmgren, Jaylen Brown, Jalen Williams, and Jaden McDaniels posted a better net rating. Siakam helped drive winning at the highest level while carrying a workload many teams wouldn’t ask of a single player.
That matters because Indiana kept running into the best player in each series. Milwaukee had Giannis.
Cleveland had Donovan Mitchell. New York had Jalen Brunson.
Oklahoma City had SGA, while many still placed Williams and Holmgren ahead of him. Siakam was the underdog in the star matchup every step of the way, and still helped Indiana win three series before falling 24 minutes short of knocking off the league’s best team, best defense, and MVP.
The larger picture starts long before these Pacers runs. Ten years ago, Siakam went 27th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, with comparisons that included Luc Mbah a Moute and Jordan Mickey. That was the kind of modest projection that fit a raw defender with upside but not much offense.
He went to the G-League in his rookie season and helped the Toronto 905 win a D-League Championship while earning Finals MVP. By his third season, he was starting next to Kawhi Leonard, winning Most Improved Player, and helping Toronto capture its first championship.
After several productive seasons in Toronto, Siakam was traded to Indiana and has since become the team’s most trusted leader across two deep playoff runs. His career has been built on work, repetition, and constant improvement, and it has turned him into one of the best players in the league.
At 32, he still isn’t likely to get the national respect that matches his impact. He probably won’t be viewed as a top-20 talent, and that seems to suit him just fine. Rick Carlisle said on a podcast interview with Draymond Green that Siakam is a great player, and that assessment carries weight.
Underestimate Pascal Siakam at your own risk. If the Pacers are back among the East’s elite this season, he’ll almost certainly be a major reason why.
In Other News...
Pacers Gamble On From Myles Turner Looks Smarter Than Ever
When Indiana let Myles Turner walk, it was a franchise-shaping decision, the kind that invites immediate second-guessing. Turner landed with the Bucks on a four-year deal worth $108.9 million, while the Pacers moved on by trading for Ivica Zubac and positioning themselves for the 2026-27 season with bigger goals in mind. It was a clear bet on reshaping the roster rather than trying to keep the old core intact.
Early signs have only added to the debate, because Turners first season in Milwaukee produced his lowest statistical averages since his rookie year. For Indiana, that doesnt automatically make the choice look right or wrong, but it does sharpen the context around what comes next. The Pacers wanted flexibility and a path toward a title run, and now the question is whether the pivot away from Turner ends up being the move that gives them the ceiling they were chasing. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Fans Can Already See Milwaukees Myles Turner Problem
Myles Turners exit from Indianapolis was always going to linger, but the timing has made the comparison even easier for Pacers fans to spot. Indiana moved on from its longest-tenured player by turning to Ivica Zubac on a more favorable contract, while Turner landed in Milwaukee carrying the kind of deal that tends to invite scrutiny the moment the results wobble.
For the Pacers, the bigger takeaway is not just that they replaced Turner, but that they did it without inheriting the same financial baggage. Turner still brings shot-blocking and a recognizable skill set, but the questions around his overall defensive impact and efficiency have followed him into Bucks conversations, and that makes his contract look even heavier from a distance. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Zubac Trade Suddenly Looks Different Than Fans Remember
When the Pacers struck the deal for Ivica Zubac, the trade package looked as steep as any recent move in the league. Indiana sent out multiple assets, including two first-round picks and players Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson, in a swap that was meant to reshape the frontcourt and give the Clippers a major return. The transaction was already going to be judged on whether Zubac could justify the price, and now the way the deal is remembered has shifted again.
A guilty verdict against the Clippers in a cap circumvention scandal changed the optics even more, costing Indiana a 2029 draft pick tied to the trade. It does not alter the actual pieces exchanged between the teams, but it does leave the Clippers' return to the Pacers reduced to Keaton Wagler in the aftermath. For Indiana, the broader question remains the same: whether the on-court value of Zubac can still make a deal this expensive feel worthwhile. [Read more 🡒]