Pascal Siakam is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his NBA career. But because of how bad the Indiana Pacers' record so far (they are a league-worst 9-32), he likely won't get selected to his fourth career All-Star team this season.
In a recent episode of the "No Dunks" podcast, J.E. Skeets noted that Siakam's numbers are nearly identical to what they were in his prior three All-Star appearances. But because the Pacers stand alone at the bottom of the NBA standings, the Cameroon native is not likely to get the recognition he deserves.
"It feels to me if [the Pacers] have 14 wins, we're like, 'Oh yeah. Siakam's in for sure.' Siakam's made the All-Star team three times prior, and these are identical numbers to what he was doing when he was an All-Star. He's just being penalized because they have under 10 wins," Skeets said.
Pascal Siakam is having an All-Star level season
There isn't a lot going well for the Pacers right now. They are the worst team in the league, they are without numerous key players from last year's NBA Finals team (most notably Tyrese Haliburton), and they still have a ton of problems they seem to be having a hard time fixing (i.e., their center situation).
But despite all of its struggles, Indiana can at least be satisfied with how Siakam has played this season since they needed him to step up more than ever.
Through 40 games this season, the one-time NBA champion has averaged 23.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals. He has also shot 48.2% from the field and 37% from deep. And as Skeets mentioned, these numbers are very similar to the numbers he put up in his three All-Star seasons.
In the 2019-20 season, Siakam averaged 22.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1 SPG. In 2022-23, he averaged 24.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 5.8 APG. And last season (his first full year in Indiana), he averaged 20.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 3.4 APG.
Based purely on the numbers, the 31-year-old absolutely deserves to be in the All-Star conversation. This is especially true given that the NBA is planning on running a USA vs. World format this season.
It's hard to deny just how bad the Pacers have been this season, and it's not invalid to use that against Siakam (even if their shortcomings are far from his fault). This is the same conversation many have for the MVP award. If a player put together an incredible season and had all these amazing stats, but his team missed the playoffs, how valuable was he really?
It's not the exact same situation since the All-Star nod is mostly an individual accolade, but when there are so many players worthy of a spot, that might be the ultimate tie-breaker.
Regardless of whether he is named an All-Star once again this year or not, there is no denying that Siakam is one of the Pacers' most important players. And as they look to re-establish themselves as title contenders as soon as next season, they will need him to keep bringing his A-game.