When you think of Indiana Pacers with great facial hair, who do you think of? Do you think of Tyreke Evans' glorious beard or Lance Stephenson's billy goat goatee? If we're going back to the ABA days, Billy Knight had some crazy sideburns. But if we're staying in the present, it has to be Ben Sheppard's silly little mustache.
To this date, that has kind of been Sheppard's only claim to fame. He was a late first-round pick in the 2023 draft, a class that went as poorly as any for the Pacers, and has failed to do anything in the NBA. He is, in theory, a decent role player, but has been functionally unplayable for his first few years in the league.
However, despite that disappointment, those shortcomings, and the failure to develop, it could all be coming to an end this year.
The Pacers are searching for their fourth wing. Behind the locked-in trio of Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, and newcomer free-agent signing Kelly Oubre Jr., there will be space for at least one more player to grab rotation minutes.
Everyone down the Pacers' bench will be scraping and clawing to reach that spot. Between a fellow 2023 draft disappointment in Jarace Walker, fringe NBA prospects like Jalen Slawson and Quenton Jackson, and one-dimensional positional needs like Jay Huff, there are a ton of mouths to feed
If Sheppard wants this spot, he will have to fight for it and earn it from other deserving choices. To start the season, the Pacers will most likely be playing an eight-man rotation, omitting all of those names entirely.
However, as the season wears on, Indiana will need more players to simply be playable. Ben Sheppard could be that player.
The question then becomes: would the Pacers want him to? And more importantly, what would he have to do to meet and surpass their expectations?
An ideal Sheppard not seen since the Bible
Is it insane to ask Sheppard to simply watch Nesmith and Oubre in practice every day and to emulate the two of them as best as possible? Is that a stretch?
Maybe it is. But that's exactly who Ben needs to be to find a role.
Indiana's biggest holes are in three primary skill sets. They lack excellent shooting outside of Nesmith and Tyrese Haliburton (although they have a handful of capable shooters throughout the rest of the rotation). They also have no real option for a true guard-stopping defensive specialist. Beyond that, the everpresent need to run in transition remains.
Sheppard quietly finally reached league average from deep last year, meeting the 36% rate that most wings need to reach. His shooting from the right corner was particularly impressive, well above 40%.
Additionally, Sheppard may already be the closest thing Indiana has to a lockdown "break-glass-in-case-of-emergency" option. The Belmont product is large and burly, but able to keep up with smaller guards.
Lastly, the question of running transition was answered the day the Pacers drafted Sheppard. This front office would not bring in a player who doesn't fit their core identity.
Which just leaves the matter of circumstance. Sheppard could be a massive difference-maker, but only if he gets the chance to be that.
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