Pacers To Waive Ethan Thompson

from Serbia indicated that Thompson was expected to be waived by Indiana after the 27-year-old reached a one-plus-one contract agreement with the EuroLeague team KK Partizan. Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star subsequently confirmed the veracity of those reports, and now Scotto has too.

Thompson, who went undrafted out of Oregon State in 2021, has spent most of the past five years playing in the NBA G League, suiting up for the Windy City Bulls, Mexico City Capitanes, Osceola Magic, Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami’s affiliate) and Noblesville Boom (Indiana’s affiliate).

Although Thompson spent the final two months of the 2024/25 campaign on a two-way contract with the Magic, he didn’t appear in any NBA games with Orlando prior to being waived last July. He started 2025/26 with Sioux Falls, then signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Pacers at the end of November.

Thompson made 32 NBA appearances with Indiana last season, averaging 7.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists on .378/.328/.787 shooting splits in 20.4 minutes per game. He also made 16 total appearances (eight apiece) with the Skyforce and Boom in 2025/26, averaging 26.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 6.1 APG and 1.3 SPG on .464/.450/.851 shooting in 35.3 MPG.

Waiving Thompson seems to clarify the roster situation in Indiana, where second-round pick Braden Smith has been expected to sign a two-way contract. Parting ways with Thompson will allow the Pacers to make room for Smith alongside two-way players Jalen Slawson and Kobe Brown.