Indiana Pacers Will Go As Far As Pascal Siakam Can Take Them This Year

Indiana Pacers’ Pascal Siakam poses for a photo during the NBA basketball team’s media day, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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INDIANAPOLIS – Monday morning in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Pascal Siakam walked up to the podium to field questions from reporters for media day and instantly lit up the room. It was still early, but he was full of life and encouraged others to match his smile. He was the second Indiana Pacers player to sit on the stage to discuss the coming season – Tyrese Haliburton was first – and after about 8.5 minutes of questions Siakam took a photo of the assembled media, then left.

It was less than 10 minutes of total time, but it perfectly summed up everything that Siakam will need to be this season. Haliburton, who went before him, won’t play this year due to a torn achilles. Siakam, an All-Star last season, becomes the Pacers best player and primary offensive option as a result. He is now an even more important leader, and voice, with Haliburton sidelined.

Just like he will do often for his teammates this season, the veteran forward lit up the room and improved the vibe. And he followed up Haliburton, fittingly – taking his place as the player who will have the most on-court responsibilities by talking about many important on-court topics. Media day could not have been more appropriate for Siakam as he enters his 10th NBA season.

“I was telling the guys, it’s not going to take one person to replace Tyrese. We’re gonna all have to do it collectively,” Siakam said. “And that’s the way we’ve got to think about it.”

Why is Siakam so critical to the Pacers this year?

For the second-straight year, Siakam gathered his team and brought them down to his house in Orlando to host a short minicamp before the season started. Siakam has a full-length court at his residence, and it’s a player-led event with some support staff in attendance. For the Pacers roster, it’s the unofficial start of the campaign. They get together and start playing, building their chemistry. At the same time, Siakam is talking a lot. He’s a former NBA champion, and he shares notes about work ethic, being a team, and so much more.

Those are the leadership qualities that have made the 31-year old forward valuable to the blue and gold. Since being traded to the Pacers in 2024, Siakam has imparted wisdom at many turns – sometimes to a young player who needs to hear about Siakam’s journey from the G League to All-NBA teams, other times to his entire roster that needs a reminder about staying level-headed in the postseason.

As a megatalent with a unique journey, his voice holds weight. And this year, it will be perhaps the most important voice in Indiana’s locker room. Two of the team’s greatest connectors from the last few seasons, James Johnson and Haliburton, have drastically different realities now – Haliburton is hurt and Johnson is a free agent. There is a hole that needs to be filled.

Siakam, who was already a strong behind-the-scenes presence, can fill it. He’s already a rock but will need to be more. “I think Pascal and I are kind of the vocal guys on this team,” Haliburton said. “You can already see him using his voice more and doing more in every aspect, both on and off the court,” veteran guard T.J. McConnell added.

Many players will have to take on a challenge when it comes to being a leader this year for the Pacers, but it’s more important for Siakam than anyone else. It’s both because of his past and present. Being the best player on the roster comes with that kind of responsibility.

And that’s the second reason that Siakam’s coming season is of major consequence for the Pacers – he’s their top talent. The team hopes to improve every day and win as much as they can with what they have. To do that, they’ll need Siakam – a multi-time All-NBA player – to be at his best.

He climbs up the pecking order for the reigning Eastern Conference champions. Last year, the top four in touches per game on Indiana’s roster were the team’s three point guards (Haliburton, T.J. McConnell, and Andrew Nembhard) plus Siakam. When it comes to touches in the frontcourt – the offensive half of the floor – Siakam ranked second behind Haliburton. He had the ball often for the blue and gold in 2024-25, and the only player who had it more is out for the year.

Siakam was also first in shot attempts per game both in the regular season and playoffs last season. While other point guards will up their touches and involvement with Haliburton out, it’s clear that Indiana’s offensive operation will be led by the veteran forward. He’ll be the team’s primary option on offense and most important late-game closer.

This is not new for Siakam. After Kawhi Leonard left the Toronto Raptors, Siakam was the team’s number one option throughout the 2019-20 season. He took over 18 shots per game that campaign and had his career-high usage for a 53-19 Raptors group. He was an All-Star and finished tenth in MVP voting. Three years later, he had a similarly large role as the top dog for the 2022-23 Raptors.

Now, he’ll have to do that for Indiana. It’s a familiar challenge, but it is new for this version of the Pacers. “I think I’ve done that in the past. I think just watching my last two years, it’s easy to just be like, ‘Oh, yeah, you don’t really see some of the other things that I’ve done before’,” Siakam said of possibly having to initiate offense this year. “What I feel like makes me different is the fact that I can adapt to every situation, and I’ve worked on every facet of my game. And I think that that’s something that I can definitely do, and I’ve done in the past. So I’m definitely comfortable with that.”

Last year, Siakam suited up in six games during which Haliburton was out. He averaged 21.5 points and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 58.2% on two-point looks and 45.5% from deep. He was extremely effective, and that’s one of the reasons the Pacers have belief they can keep winning, albeit to a likely lesser extent, with Haliburton sidelined. They’re still a good team with a great leader.

As a more important initiator, Siakam will need to be sharper as a passer. At his best, he averaged nearly six assists per game. His defense will be even more critical, as will his aforementioned leadership. If he’s effective in his role this season, the Pacers can still be a winning team.

“He’s a guy we can lean on to [make plays]… he’s been a sneaky good defensive player for us the last couple of years,” Nembhard said of Siakam’s on-court role this coming year. “So just being himself, I don’t think he has to go crazy out of the box this year.”

Indiana wants to win and keep proving doubters wrong. But regardless of what they do this season in the win-loss column, they’ll need Siakam to be heavily involved to do it. He has to be a leader, a rock, a connector, and a terrific player in year 10.

On media day, Siakam set the tone that he can do those things. It was the first time of many that the Pacers will require him to lift others on or off the court.