Indiana Pacers star Pascal Siakam dropped seven spots on ESPN's top 20 NBA players list.
Indiana Pacers star forward Pascal Siakam made ESPN's top 20 NBA players list again.
However, he dropped seven spots.
Siakam was ranked No. 22 last season. He's ranked No. 29 for the upcoming season.
Siakam is one spot ahead of Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets and one spot behind Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat.
Siakam has two years remaining on his contract. The Pacers can sign the 2019 NBA champion to a $207 million extension.
Siakam signed a four-year, $188 million contract with the Pacers in 2024. The All-Star will make $48,924,624 this upcoming season and $52,298,736 during the 2027-28 season.
Without Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers won only 19 games last season. However, Siakam played well. The former Toronto Raptors wing averaged 24.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game and made his fourth All-Star team.
Siakam enters this upcoming season with career averages of 18.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game with the Raptors and Pacers. He won the 2019 championship with Toronto and helped Indiana reach the 2025 NBA Finals, a series the Oklahoma City Thunder won in seven games.
Indiana acquired Ivica Zubac from the Los Angeles Clippers at last season's trade deadline. Zubac, Haliburton and Siakam will be the Pacers' "Big 3" in 2026-27.
The Zubac trade did come at a high cost, though. The Pacers lost their first-round pick in the 2026 draft because of the Zubac 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 Clippers: one in 2029 and either this year's first if it fell outside 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 this upcoming season alongside Siakam and Haliburton.
Indiana opens the 2026-27 regular season on October 21 against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pacers added three new players this offseason: Larry Nance Jr., Kelly Oubre Jr. and Braden Smith.
After making those moves, here is the Pacers' projected 2026-27 rotation, via HoopsHype:
Starters: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac
Bench: TJ McConnell, Ben Sheppard, Kelly Oubre, Obi Toppin, Jay Huff, Braden Smith, Quenton Jackson, Kobe Brown, Jarace Walker, Larry Nance Jr., Jalen Slawson, Johnny Furphy
Siakam has said he wants to spends the rest of his NBA career with the Pacers.
Only time will tell if he gets his wish.
