The Indiana Pacers are being slept on and one ESPN insider has warned the rest of the NBA about them.
Heading into the 2026-27 NBA season, there are very few "experts" who are picking the Indiana Pacers to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
Last season, the Pacers ended up going just 19-63. It was a rough all-around year following the torn Achilles injury for Tyrese Haliburton. However, it's easy to forget what the team did just two seasons ago.
Haliburton led Indiana on a magical run in the NBA Playoffs. When all was said and done, the Pacers came up one short short of their first NBA championship.
Now that Haliburton is back on the court, Indiana is hoping to pick up where it left off.
ESPN insider Bobby Marks has his eyes on the Pacers. While most aren't giving Indiana a chance to win it all, Marks has put the NBA on notice about Indiana.
"I was on NBA Today and I made a joke that I have talked so positively about Indiana that I should probably get a key to the city," Marks said. "I just feel like nobody is really talking about them at all."
Marks went on to explain why he's so high on the Pacers heading into this season.
"You have 10 players back from the team that lost to the Thunder in seven games," Marks said. "You've added Kelly Oubre, who had a really nice year in Philadelphia. The Zu thing will be interesting to watch from how they played previously."
In addition to reminding the rest of the NBA about Indiana, Marks also made a strong statement about Haliburton. He thinks everyone has forgotten just how good the star point guard actually is during his absence.
"When players are out a year, you kind of forget how good they are," Marks said.
Finally, the ESPN analyst spoke out with his thoughts about the team's upcoming campaign.
"If he can get off to a good start and play at a high level, people are like, 'Wow this guy is pretty good. Maybe he isn't overrated,'" Marks said. "Maybe you can go from 19 wins to 46 wins. That's probably going to dispel doubters."
Only time will tell whether or not the Pacers are able to prove Marks right for his belief in them. They have a very strong roster on paper. If Haliburton returns looking like himself, Indiana could be a team to be reckoned with in the East.
