In 2023, the Indiana Pacers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals of the inaugural In-Season Tournament (now known as the NBA Cup). Fast forward to the present day, and this loss may have actually turned out to be a massive victory.
On a recent episode of the "Mind the Game" podcast, Tyrese Haliburton made it clear that he is unsure if the Pacers still trade for Pascal Siakam had they defeated LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals because of how well they were playing.
"I think about that game often, because we were playing so well up to that point," Haliburton said about the 2023 In-Season Tournament Finals. "If we win that game, do we ever trade for Pascal [Siakam]? I don't know."
Heading into that game, Indiana was 12-8 and owned the No. 5 seed in the East. Additionally, the team led the NBA with 128.4 points per game at that point, according to StatMuse.
The Pacers were rolling and were playing their best basketball in years. And if they did win the first-ever In-Season Tournament, maybe they would have been fine with just letting it ride and keeping everything intact. But that's not what happened... and the Pacers couldn't be any happier.
Pascal Siakam has been a fantastic acquisition for the Pacers
Indiana acquired Siakam from the Toronto Raptors to give Haliburton a legitimate co-star, raise its ceiling, and establish itself as a legitimate contender in the East. And the team got exactly what it was looking for.
In parts of three seasons in Indiana, Siakam has averaged 21.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 51.4% from the field and 38.5% from deep. Additionally, he helped the team reach two conference finals (including in 2025, when he took home the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award) and one NBA Finals while also being named to his third career All-Star team.
The Pacers would probably still be a solid team without the one-time NBA Champion, but there's no way they would have established themselves as legitimate title contenders.
Siakam has been incredibly impactful both on and off the court. He has been playing consistently great basketball and has bought into Indiana's system, and he has also taken on a leadership role, which is incredibly important on a young team like the Pacers.
Trading for Siakam is the gift that keeps on giving for Indiana. And he will continue to play a big role for the team moving forward as they look to re-enter the title picture as soon as next year. So while it may have been nice for the Pacers to win the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament, what they got instead has been much, much sweeter.