Days before the 2025 NBA Draft (and during the NBA Finals), the Indiana Pacers traded the No. 23 pick to the Pelicans, reacquiring their 2026 first-round pick in the process. Indiana traded the pick to Toronto in 2024 as part of the Pascal Siakam deal, and Toronto traded it to New Orleans earlier this year in the Brandon Ingram deal. Now, the pick is back where it all started.
It's hard to feel optimistic as a Pacers fan when the team is 1-13 (after Monday's 127-112 loss to the Pistons), especially after the way the 2024-25 season ended. Indiana's incredible run to the NBA Finals ended heartbreakingly, as Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in the first quarter.
By that point, everyone knew that the 2025-26 season would look far different for Indiana than anticipated. You might not have thought there would be this much losing going on at the beginning of the season, but between Indiana's poor injury luck and no improvement from its young players, it's been terrible.
There is no silver lining to your star player missing what could (and should) be the whole season, but little did the Pacers know, they did themselves a favor days before Game 7 by reacquiring their pick. As of right now, Indiana has the worst record in the league. The draft lottery is unpredictable (see last year), but the Pacers could walk away with the No. 1 pick.
Pacers didn't know how important it'd be to reacquire their 2026 pick
The wild thing is that the Pelicans might still have made that trade, even after the NBA Finals ended. On draft night, New Orleans traded the No. 23 pick and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to Atlanta for the No. 13 pick. The Pelicans are 2-12, but they can't even look forward to a high pick. The Hawks, who are 9-5 and fourth in the East, currently have the third-best odds at the No. 1 pick.
At least, unlike New Orleans, Indiana can look ahead to what will be a stacked 2026 draft class. And the best part? Haliburton will be back next season.
It's never fun to watch your favorite team lose (and then lose some more), but it could always be worse. You could be rooting for the Pelicans. In all seriousness (and that was truthful), the Pacers' record isn't an accurate representation of who they are. It might not feel like it right now, given that the season just started a few weeks ago, but Indiana won't be down for long.