Pacers' Pascal Siakam Embracing Indiana Culture in Major Way

Three-time All-Star Indiana Pacers power forward Pascal Siakam has been embracing Indiana culture in a major way this summer.

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Siakam will now be the clear No. 1 option on a Pacers club in transition without injured best player Tyrese Haliburton. The two-time All-NBA point guard tore his Achilles tendon early into Game 7 of the Pacers' NBA Finals encounter with the Oklahoma City Thunder, effectively killing Indiana's Finals chances.

Haliburton will be shelved through the entire 2025-26 season, and former shooting guard Andrew Nembhard will be shifted down a spot to Indiana's starting point guard role.

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Siakam was already the Pacers' leading scorer last year, but Haliburton was questionably the team's quarterback and offensive fulcrum. That role will now fall to Siakam to some extent, although Nembhard and backup T.J. McConnell will likely still initiate most actions.

In 78 healthy games for the 50-32 Pacers, the 6-foot-8 New Mexico State product averaged 20.2 points on .519/.389/.734 shooting splits, 6.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks per regular season bout.

Across 23 playoff games during his second run to an NBA Finals (Siakam won it all in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors), the 31-year-old averaged 20.5 points while slashing .513/.427/.713, 6.3 boards, 3.4 dimes, 1.2 swipes and 0.7 blocks a night.

Now, Siakam is working to ingratiate himself into the Indiana community ahead of just his second full season with the Pacers. Following his first half-season in town, Siakam inked a four-year, $188 million contract in 2024 free agency.

The veteran big man attended a NASCAR race, the Brickyard 400, in Indianapolis over the weekend.

Per Josh Bode of WISHTV.com, Siakam addressed his need to get more involved in Indiana life.

“I want to continue to insert myself in the community,” Siakam said. “This is my home now and I’m super excited to be here. And again, I have a special bond with the state, like Indiana in general, and just being able to be a part of it was awesome and just want to continue to do good for the city, the state and again it’s another cool opportunity to see the people and hang out.”

Siakam emphasized how much he respects the value racing carries for Indiana culture.

“This is a big part of what Indiana is about and I mean, I love racing,” Siakam said. “I love F1. Just being a part of NASCAR now and learning about it, it’s super exciting and to be able to do something like that, it’s pretty cool.”

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