Pacers Finals piece set to leave NBA for Europe

One veteran player is about to go from the NBA Finals to playing overseas.

Indiana Pacers center Thomas Bryant is in advanced negotiations with Greek professional basketball team Panathinaikos, European outlet Telesport reported on Sunday. Telesport adds that Bryant is expected to sign a contract with Panathinaikos worth $3 million per year.

Bryant, 27, is an eight-year NBA veteran who has been on five different teams in his career. He won a title with the Denver Nuggets in 2023 and then made it back to the Finals this past season as a member of the Pacers.

Overall in the 2024-25 season, Bryant averaged 6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in just 15.1 minutes per game for Indiana on exemplary big man shooting splits of 51/32/86. He also received some occasional rotation minutes during the Pacers’ 2025 Finals run as a backup to Myles Turner, appearing in 20 of the team’s 23 playoff games.

With Turner leaving Indiana this summer to sign with a major rival, Bryant might have had an opportunity for a bigger role in 2025-26. But it appears the Pacers have not been all that interested in bringing him back, so Bryant may now be headed to Europe instead.

Panathinaikos is the most successful club in the history of Greek basketball, and they are coming off a Greek Cup victory last season as well as a trip to the Final Four of the EuroLeague. Additionally, Panathinaikos is no stranger to poaching talent from the NBA and could now be doing so again by signing the 6-foot-10 center Bryant.