Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

As we look back at last NBA season, one of the better stories from the 2024-25 year came from the Indiana Pacers and the incredible playoff run that they went on. This Pacers team entered the postseason as one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, but there weren’t many who saw them going far into the playoffs.

Indiana was able to knock off multiple top teams on its way to the NBA Finals, and they came ever so close to winning it all. The Pacers fell in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but if not for an injury to star guard Tyrese Haliburton, they may have won the title.

Haliburton went down in the early stages of Game 7, limiting what the Pacers could do for the rest of the game. But as they often did a year ago, Indiana still fought to the finish, making the Thunder sweat out the win.

Now, heading into this current season, the Pacers are going to be without Haliburton for the entire year due to the injury. However, this Indiana team still shouldn’t be counted out, and they remain one of the fiercer units around the East.

Haliburton wasn’t the only star player to go down in the playoffs, and this has led the East to be more wide open than in years past. Indiana could take advantage of this fact, and people shouldn’t be sleeping on the Pacers this year.

With the collection of talent that the Pacers have, they can still be a dominant team in the 2025-26 season. Of course, it will be much tougher without the services of Haliburton, but Indiana can still make noise this year.

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Will Indiana Make Another Finals Run?

Star forward Pascal Siakam leads this team, and he made the All-Star roster a year ago. Siakam has shown himself to be a true star in the NBA, even if he doesn’t get the same recognition as others around the league.

Indiana will be relying on the continued emergence of forward Bennedict Mathurin, especially with Haliurton out for the year. If Mathurin can take that next step, this Pacers team could be dangerous once again.

The big obstacle for Indiana is how the team will navigate the loss of star center Myles Turner, who left them in free agency for the rival Milwaukee Bucks. Turner was the heart and soul of the Pacers, and the frontcourt is fairly thin without him in the rotation.

If the Pacers were to address the frontcourt problems at the trade deadline, this team could really take off in the second half of the year. This team has all the tools to be very successful this year, and being led by head coach Rick Carlisle gives them an advantage that many other teams don’t have, which could spell more wins.