Pascal Siakam Is Putting Together An All-NBA Season For The Indiana Pacers

It’s been a little over a calendar year since the Indiana Pacers traded for Pascal Siakam. During the 122 games he’s played for the Pacers over that span (including the regular season and 17 playoff games), he’s helped them evolve on both ends of the floor into a new, more well-rounded version of themselves.

Siakam had to do some evolving of his own, too. Playing next to an elite shot creator like Tyrese Haliburton has required some rewiring in his game, but he’s almost seamlessly plugged in wherever the Pacers have needed. When Haliburton was battling a back injury to start the season, Siakam helped keep Indiana afloat in the Eastern Conference. A unique blend of post playmaking and isolation scoring were his instruments of choice, propelling him to the third All-Star nod of his career.

As Haliburton returned to form, and Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith rejoined the lineup following separate injuries, Siakam shifted back into more of a secondary role. He thrived off the ball as a spot-up option and roll man in the Pacers’ five-out offensive scheme. Since Jan. 1, the Pacers are 20-10 with a top-10 offense and top-15 defense. They’re in the thick of the race to earn home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Siakam has been their steady hand. But what exactly is he doing to be that steady hand?

Off-Ball Prowess

This season is the most time Siakam has spent off the ball since 2018-19 with the Toronto Raptors, when he played alongside Kawhi Leonard and won the Most Improved Player award. With Haliburton serving as the primary ball-handler, the Pacers have used Siakam as more of a release valve in spot-up shooting and roll man opportunities.

Consider this: Siakam already has 247 spot-up possessions this season. The Pacers score 1.13 points per possession (PPP) on those spot-ups, ranking in the 73rd percentile. The last time Siakam cracked 300 was in 2018-19, when he had nearly 400 spot-up possessions. This season, it’s his most frequent play type, and for good reason.

The Pacers’ five-out offense — led by Haliburton’s cerebral playmaking in ball-screen actions — forces teams to collapse in the paint, which generates plenty of quality shots. Siakam has capitalized. He’s taking 4.3 threes a game, his most since the 2020-2021 season. But this time, he’s knocking down 40 percent of them, compared to just 29.7 percent in 2020-21.

The most fundamental change in Siakam’s game from his time with Toronto has to be how he’s positioned in pick-and-rolls. Due to the lack of ball-handling on the Raptors, Siakam often served as their pick-and-roll initiator and averaged more than 200 such possessions over his last three seasons with the team.

The Pacers have inverted that. He’s logged only 48 pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions all season. Instead, he’s being deployed as a roll man more often with 122 possessions this year. That’s his fourth-most common play type and primarily manifests on pick-and-pops, where he generates 1.113 PPP.

Siakam’s shooting improvement pairs excellently with his off-ball prowess as a cutter and transition player. Now, he’s even more dangerous leaking out on fast breaks or roaming around on the weak-side in half-court settings, which has made him an elite off-ball threat for one of the best offenses in the NBA.

Go-To Scorer

This off-ball dominance doesn’t mean Siakam hasn’t been used frequently as an on-ball creator.

He’s an excellent isolation scorer, putting up over 1.08 PPP when passes are included. Often, the Pacers will run a pick-and-roll, hunt out a switch and allow Siakam to attack the mismatch in the post, where his scoring and passing generate 1.19 PPP. He’s methodical in the midrange, probing to gain advantages and rise over the top of defenders by using his length. It’s become a highly effective part of his scoring arsenal.

Pascal Siakam is such a sick hooper

put on an absolute clinic vs Detroit

37 on 15/21 (4/7 3P), six, four, +32 pic.twitter.com/LMkIoQx0uY

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) January 30, 2025

This wrinkle has added a curveball to the Pacers’ offensive scheme. While their offense is still predicated on Haliburton generating quality looks each possession, they now have a go-to option in Siakam when the game slows down. He’s shown that in clutch situations.

Of the 30 players to take at least 200 shots in the fourth quarter this season, Siakam is the third-most efficient member, shooting 53 percent. That mark is slightly better than Jalen Brunson, and just behind Kevin Durant and Jaren Jackson Jr.

There’s no question he’s been asked to have the ball in his hands less with the Pacers, but during the moments he does, he consistently capitalizes on them.

Shifting to a heavier off-ball role has also helped him conserve energy for the defensive side of the floor. With Siakam out there, the Pacers are 9.6 points better per 100 possessions as a half-court defense; that’s the largest on-off swing among all their players. They’re 12.6 points better on defense in general with him, which ranks in the 99th percentile for big men, according to Cleaning the Glass.

The functional size he provides the Pacers’ lineups and the connectivity he brings as a backline defender have helped buoy them.

A Case For All-NBA?

Siakam’s willingness to adapt his game should be commended. In fact, it’s been a prevailing quality of his game ever since he entered the league. In Toronto, he went from an energizer bunny — making a name for himself with his defensive versatility while being spoon-fed transition buckets — to becoming an elite off-ball weapon for a championship team. Following that 2019 title, he later morphed into an excellent isolation scorer and effective ball-handler on a squad starved for self-creation.

Now in Indiana, he’s had to do all of that during his first full year with the Pacers. He’s blending what made him an elite secondary player early in his career with the scoring and playmaking strides he’s achieved to emerge as a wholly unique weapon.

As the final month of the regular season approaches and award talks ramp up, Siakam has firmly thrust himself into the All-NBA conversation. He’s averaging 20.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 60.9 percent true shooting, oscillating between being the Pacers’ best player and being their X factor.

He’s the cog making Indiana’s 36-28, tied-for-the-fourth-seed machine hum. Those efforts are well worth recognition as an All-NBA player this year.