One basketball analyst thinks the Indiana Pacers have an elite starting lineup.
In a Bleacher Report story called "Ranking Every NBA Starting Lineup After LeBron James Signs with Philadelphia 76ers," NBA analyst Greg Swartz ranked the Indiana Pacers fourth.
Swartz has the 76ers at one, the Oklahoma City Thunder at two and the New York Knicks at three.
The Pacers are expected to start Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac next season.
"Eighty percent of this starting lineup was in the NBA Finals just over a year ago, and Zubac is an upgrade over Myles Turner in a lot of areas," Swartz wrote. "The core of Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith and Siakam had a net rating of plus-29.1 without Turner on the floor in 2025-26, proving that they'll survive the loss of their former starting center just fine.
"This will be one of the league's best lineups once again with the return of Haliburton, especially with the 7-foot Zubac (14.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 59.8 percent shooting last season) now in the middle."
The Pacers added Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. this offseason in free agency. Their big move happened last season when they acquired Zubac from the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Zubac trade came at a high cost, as the Pacers lost their first-round pick in the 2026 draft because of the deal.
The Pacers needed to land in the top four to keep their pick after trading it to the Clippers with protections for Zubac. The trade sent two of Indiana's first-round picks to the Los Angeles Clippers: one in 2029 and either this year's first if it fell outside of the top four or a 2031 unprotected first-rounder if it did not.
Because the Washington Wizards moved up in the lottery, Indiana landed fifth, so the pick went to the Clippers instead.
The Pacers could have drafted AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer or Caleb Wilson. Instead, they have to pray that Zubac plays like an All-Star next season.
Without Haliburton, the Pacers struggled immensely last season. They won only 19 games. Indiana should be a playoff team next season with Hali back in the fold.
Haliburton had an incredible 2024-25 campaign for the Pacers. He averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks per game and made the All-NBA Third Team.
Indiana defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Knicks to advance to the 2025 NBA Finals. The Thunder defeated the Pacers in the NBA Finals in seven games. Haliburton, of course, tore his Achilles tendon in Game 7.
The basketball world can't wait to see Haliburton back on the court. We are almost there.
