The NBA’s early schedule release has left Indiana with only one primetime showcase so far, and it comes on November 13, 2026 against the New York Knicks. For a Pacers team that just reached the 2025 NBA Finals, that’s a pretty thin haul.
On paper, the lack of national attention is easy to explain. Indiana finished 19-63 the previous season, and teams with that kind of record usually don’t pile up marquee slots.
But this Pacers group is not a normal case. The league has already seen what this team can do when the lights are brightest, and the biggest reason is Tyrese Haliburton.
Haliburton is coming back from what the source describes as the most horrific season-ending injury anyone can imagine, and that uncertainty has clearly made the league cautious. Still, the Pacers’ postseason run in 2025 gave everyone a front-row seat to one clutch moment after another from a player the league should be pushing harder.
It started against Milwaukee, when Haliburton buried a game-winning layup over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks to close out the series in five games. Then came Cleveland, where Indiana faced the No. 1 seed in the East and Haliburton ripped out their hearts with a stepback three over Ty Jerome to steal Game 2 and seize control of the series. The Pacers finished that one in five as well.
Next came the Knicks, and that series produced the shot that may stand as the most insane in Pacers franchise history. Haliburton’s stepback two hit the heel of the rim, shot into the rafters, and somehow dropped through to force overtime. Indiana rode that moment to a series-shifting win and eventually took the series in six on its home court.
Then he did it again on the NBA’s biggest stage. In Game 1 of the Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana trailed the entire game until Obi Toppin grabbed the defensive rebound and fed Haliburton, who drilled a pull-up jumper over Cason Wallace with 0.3 left to put the Pacers ahead 111-110 and steal the opener from the heavy favorites.
Even Game 7 brought more of the same early on. Haliburton opened the game by hitting deep threes and jawing with a fan who was running his mouth.
That’s what makes the schedule news feel so strange: this is not just any star, and this is not just any team. Haliburton plays with joy, and the big moments have come so fast that he has become one of the most entertaining players in the league. Indiana’s run drew plenty of attention even after the Finals ended, and for many, it became the defining “what if” in Pacers history.
So yes, the small market and last season’s record help explain why the league played it safe. But after everything Indiana did in the 2025 postseason, leaving them with only one primetime game feels like a missed opportunity. The Pacers may not be getting the national spotlight now, but they still look built for the kind of nights viewers remember.
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