Trevor Booker reflects on his time with the Indiana Pacers

His time with the Indiana Pacers was short and sweet, but Trevor Booker still embodied what it meant to be a Pacer.

Including the postseason, Trevor Booker only suited up for the Indiana Pacers for a total of 24 games; just over 300 minutes in total. But beyond adding forward depth, Booker did something last season that was even more important than being productive on the basketball court, he fit right into the Pacers culture.

Booker wasn’t thought to be much more than a back end of the rotation guy when he joined the team, but having to be a veteran who meshed with the chemistry of an already tight-knit group is no easy task. Joining a group this bound together would normally be a challenge, but Booker told me the Pacers embraced him right into their culture.

“Usually it would be kind of tough [to join an inseparable squad],” Booker told me. “But with the guys that we had — they made it super easy. They helped me learn the plays, they brought me right in, I just fit right in when I got there and everyone made it super easy for me”

Booker said he chose Indiana for that culture. He had a variety of suitors on the buyout market after being waived by the 76ers, but he liked the Pacers more than any other destination. “I chose Indiana because I liked their culture. That was a team that I was watching the whole season — they were playing well, they had a lot of guys with no big egos on the team, and that’s something I liked. So I chose Indiana and I loved my choice.”

Indiana is pleased that he chose here. Booker was productive in his time on the floor, posting averages of 5.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in about 16 minutes. On an equal level of importance, he allowed Thaddeus Young to rest. Young finished 23rd in the league in total minutes, and that ranking would certainly have been higher had Trevor Booker not joined the team in early March.

He was productive in the playoffs, too. The Indiana Pacers posted a +3.4 net rating with Booker on the court against the Cavaliers, and Booker himself canned 60 percent of his shots in the series. He came up huge for the team that had no deployable backup power forwards for a massive portion of the season.

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The team ultimately lost to LeBron James and the Cavs, but the Pacers made that series way more competitive than anyone expected. In my own head, that had to be devastating. The Pacers played very well down the stretch of last season, and they were rewarded with a first-round matchup against the King. For Booker and the Pacers, it had an opposite sentiment.

“For some teams, it may be [devastating to face LeBron]” Booker stated. Then, his tone changed. “But we were excited. We saw a great opportunity there. We were a team that — we weren’t scared of anybody. We were playing well and we were confident no matter who we were playing. If we had to play the Golden State Warriors in the first round we would have been just as confident. And I think it shows, you know. We took them 7 games and not once did we back down.”

The confidence oozed through the team and down to the fans. Not many on the national stage picked the Pacers to win, but a lot of local people knew how good the Pacers were. Everyone in Indy knew that this team had a chance. The Pacers nearly exceeded everyone’s expectations and took down the Cavs in a series that nearly altered the landscape of the NBA.

“Not too many people predicted us to win. If you look on ESPN or wherever else they were making a joke about it. One guy said we would lose the series in 3 games”. Booker wasn’t being facetious. The headline on First Things First was “What do the Cavs need to do vs Pacers to prepare for the Raptors.” Nobody gave the Pacers a chance — they were seen as an afterthought. But the team knew they had a shot.

“Stuff like that really makes me mad,” Booker said. “That shows you they honestly don’t know what they are talking about — they are on the outside looking in. It’s hard to take that stuff to heart, but that is stuff I do take to heart.” In true Pacers fashion, all Trevor Booker wants is the team to get the respect they deserve.

“We just took [the series] one day at a time and tried to go out there and play our game,” Booker commented on the seven-game battle. The team wanted to show everyone that they were for real, and beating the King would be the perfect way to do it. Losing in seven games hurts, but Booker says he has no regrets about the series.

“Definitely no regrets. Looking back on it, I think we played some good basketball. They had the best player in the World… it’s tough getting through that. But we came close.”

Now, Booker himself is the guy on the outside looking in, as his injury is preventing him from playing. But he knows the team has a bright future as they are led by Victor Oladipo. I couldn’t help myself from asking Booker how he felt about Oladipo and his improvements last season.

“Victor has always been that special. Getting to showcase it, you just have to find the right team,” Booker commented on Oladipo’s work ethic as well. “He is such a hard worker that [his improvements] didn’t surprise me at all. As soon as I got to Indiana, I saw his energy — I saw his work ethic. It didn’t surprise me that he improved as much as he did. He’s always the first one in the gym, the one with the most energy. He always comes in singing, which I got tired of.”

We both laughed about that. Oladipo is known for his singing, he would occasionally call up Kyle O’Quinn just to sing to him this summer. But Booker said the singing is part of what makes Oladipo, and the Indiana Pacers, such a good team.

“He’s just a great overall guy, and that’s why he’s leading the team to success.”

Oladipo may the leader for the Indiana Pacers future success. But without Trevor Booker, the past success would look a little different. He was a veteran that came into a harmonious team and didn’t disrupt a thing; in fact, he came in willing to both learn and teach. In that way, Trevor Booker embodied exactly what it meant to play for the Indiana Pacers.

*You can listen to my full conversation with Trevor Booker here.