There is a trend going through NBA Twitter: a graphic builder ranking the top 10 League Pass teams. While it is inherently an opinion-based experiment, it's always interesting to see who fans want to watch, even in small sample sizes.
Atop many of those lists are the Indiana Pacers. Despite coming off a 19-win season without a rookie phenom to show for it and a schedule release from the league office that disrespects the marketability of a seemingly fan-favorite squad, the Pacers are proving to be box office anyway.
Indiana has such a fun team that this should be no surprise, and yet it must be at least a little shocking to the NBA itself, which sees the Pacers at little more than their record last year indicated.
It's hard not to agree with the fan consensus over the league's itself as those fans are, ultimately, the people who watch those games, but it seems notable how wide that difference is.
Pacers basketball is, ultimately, all about speed. That's fun to watch. Full stop.
If you add in the return of Tyrese Haliburton, who, at his best, is one of the most enjoyable orchestrators of offense the league has seen in many, many years, and a roster filled with well-fitting, oft underrated talent, you have a recipe for what should be one of the biggest draws in the league.
The Pacers are not just one of the most well-rounded rosters, they are not just one of the most talented on paper, but they are also home to some of the most compelling storylines in the league.
They are fascinating. And fans know it.
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The Indiana Pacers have three all-star or fringe all-star level players in Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac. They have one of the league's best complementary pieces in Aaron Nesmith. They boast Andrew Nembhard, who is incredibly fun to watch and may still be a breakout candidate after what he did in the 2024-25 playoffs.
There is no reason for this team not to be televised constantly, to be shown off as a prized possession.
Notably, however, the things they lack are the very things the league values. They do not have a top-10 player, even if a healthy Haliburton gets remarkably close. They do not have a scoring machine who can take over a game while getting hot. They even fail to have their market size going for them, even if the team's fans are incredibly locked in.
The difficulty with projecting the Pacers to be anything is that it all depends on one guy. The season, or even this era, depends on Tyrese Haliburton getting back to the level he was at before his Achilles tear.
If he returns to that very high watermark, the Pacers will be flexed into far more televised games and will once again be among the best teams in the league. If he does not, they'll be middling at best and will more than likely be forced to sell off pieces mid-season.
As long as that uncertainty exists, the NBA won't take that risk. But they should have. And fans have proven that.
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