Pacers' Pascal Siakam named Eastern Conference Finals MVP

Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals as Indiana closed out New York in Game 6 Saturday night. Siakam prevailed in a close race, topping teammate Tyrese Haliburton by a 5-4 margin in voting by a panel of media members (X link).

Both players were outstanding in leading Indiana to its first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years. Siakam averaged 24.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists throughout the series and delivered 31 points in Saturday’s closeout game.

Haliburton posted 21.o points, 6.0 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game during the series and finished Game 6 with 21 points and 13 assists.

“First of all, shoutout Indy, man,” Siakam said during the trophy presentation (YouTube video link). “It’s been such an amazing experience for me so far from the first day I landed here, like the love’s been amazing. (General manager Chad Buchanan), (president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard), just unbelievable, man. First-class organization, I’m just so happy to be here. And tonight, after a bad Game 5, we wanted to bounce back. I have 100% belief in my teammates. Whenever we’re down, we always find a way, and we did that tonight.”

The Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy, which is named in honor of Larry Bird, was introduced three years ago. It was won by Boston’s Jayson Tatum in 2022, Miami’s Jimmy Butler in 2023 and Boston’s Jaylen Brown in 2024.

The Pacers will continue their pursuit of their first NBA title when the Finals begin Thursday night in Oklahoma City. The complete Finals schedule can be found here.