Pacers GM Chad Buchanan praised Pascal Siakam's growing leadership and his offseason work mentoring Jarace Walker and Indiana's young forwards.
Pascal Siakam's leadership grew during the Indiana Pacers' 19-win season and carried into the summer, general manager Chad Buchanan said Thursday at a Pacers Foundation golf event. Buchanan singled out the time Siakam has spent mentoring Jarace Walker and the team's two-way forwards.
Siakam played 62 games last season without Tyrese Haliburton, missing 20. His 24.0 points per game led the team, and he added 6.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 steals. It was his fourth All-Star selection and the first time he made consecutive All-Star teams.
Siakam has hosted teammates in Orlando, Florida, again this offseason for player-only workouts.
Siakam's Leadership Grew During Difficult Season
"For a player of Pascal's caliber, last year must have been — and we know how difficult that was to kind of sit through a season like that," Buchanan said. "His leadership skills and his qualities throughout the year never wavered, and I think as we evaluated, we kind of continued to see it grow, and I thought that was a great opportunity for him to kind of continue to build up those leadership skills and really show what he means to this team."
"I was extremely proud of kind of just seeing that on a daily basis, and it's carried through into the summer," Buchanan continued. "He's continued to have guys come down to Orlando on just player-only workouts, talking to — constantly talking to Jarace as a mentor to him, and Slaw and Kobe as well. He's built up this group. The guys know who he is as a person. And I think he is an important part of the entire team there."
Siakam Mentors Walker and Pacers' Young Forwards
Jalen Slawson and Kobe Brown hold two of Indiana's three two-way contracts. Brown came from the LA Clippers in the February trade for Ivica Zubac. Braden Smith holds the third.
Photos Siakam posted from one of this summer's sessions showed Walker, Slawson, and Brown working out with him and several team trainers. Jalen Warley, a Gonzaga forward who went undrafted and played for Indiana's Summer League team, also attended. In another clip he shared, Siakam addressed the forwards he had been training and told them to keep attacking.
Player-Only Workouts Have Become a Pacers Tradition
Indiana's pre-camp player gatherings began in 2023, when the team met at Vanderbilt in Nashville after acquiring Bruce Brown. Siakam took over hosting after arriving from the Toronto Raptors in a January 2024 trade. That year, he brought first- and second-year players to his Orlando home for four days of workouts at the end of August, then hosted the full roster about three weeks later.
Walker set career highs in scoring, rebounding, and assists last season while starting 41 of his 76 games.
Siakam was named MVP of the 2025 Eastern Conference finals after Indiana beat the Knicks in six games. He won a championship with Toronto in 2019, the same season he was named the league's Most Improved Player. He turned 32 in April and is entering his 11th NBA season.
Pacers Prepare for Training Camp
Last week, a separate group of Pacers gathered in Nashville, Tennessee, for another players-only minicamp ahead of camp. James Johnson, back with Indiana on an Exhibit 9 training camp deal, was there. Smith, the rookie point guard, signed his two-way contract Aug. 17.
Siakam fell seven spots in ESPN's annual top 20 ranking entering 2026-27. He is projected to start at power forward alongside Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and Zubac.
The Pacers hold media day Monday.
