Tyrese Haliburton will be back. Ivica Zubac, who only played five games for his new team this season, will be back. And in many ways, the Indiana Pacers will be back once the 2026-27 season rolls around.
The 2025-26 campaign was a disaster as Indiana finished with a franchise-worst 19-63 record. Even under the circumstances of Haliburton's injury and Myles Turner's departure, the Pacers were wildly disappointing. However, once they're fully healthy next season, they should be able to re-enter the title picture pretty easily and remind the basketball world why they were one win away from a championship just a year ago.
But while the long-term outlook in Indiana is promising, it's important for fans to give the team (and Haliburton specifically) some grace. Because, as it stands, there are reasons to think it might not be too pretty right off the bat.
The Pacers may struggle to begin next season
In a recent episode of the "Locked On Pacers" podcast, Tony East noted that, even if Haliburton returns to form right away, the team will likely start the season slow as they look to regain familiarity and build chemistry once again.
"Even if Haliburton starts next season at the level he has projected for himself, which is the level he played at before, I still think they'd probably start slow next year because of regaining familiarity and having a new starting center is going to be a thing that will matter next year, I think," East said.
There are a few things going against the Pacers for next season: 1) by the start of the campaign, Haliburton will have gone about a year and a half between meaningful basketball games, and he will need time to get back into it, 2) the team still needs to figure out how to incorporate Zubac into the system, and he needs to build chemistry with the rest of the roster, and 3) so many players took on bigger roles this past season that it could take some time for them to either revert to their old roles or continue to build on their new ones.
(And none of this is even factoring in the possibility of them adding another major player like AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, or Caleb Wilson in the draft.)
These are all good problems to have, don't get it twisted. But at the same time, it seems inevitable that they're all going to play a role in the Pacers starting the season a bit slow as they aim to find their groove as a unit.
The future is bright in Indiana, and fans shouldn't be surprised if the team is playing basketball in June once again. But for now, it's also important to remember that it might take time for them to get the ball rolling and officially make their presence felt once again.
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