Indiana Pacers star forward Pascal Siakam has ranked top-10 among all NBA power forwards.
The Indiana Pacers are headed into what they hope will be a very successful 2026-27 NBA season. Just two years ago, the team represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. They took the Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 7 before Tyrese Haliburton went down with a torn Achilles.
Haliburton is scheduled to make his return to the court in game one this season against the New Orleans Pelicans.
While most of the storylines have surrounded Haliburton's return, the Pacers will be relying heavily on star power forward Pascal Siakam. Without Siakam playing at a high level, Indiana won't have much of a chance to make another Finals run.
Siakam is coming off of a strong 2025-26 campaign for the Pacers. Without Haliburton on the court, he was the clear No. 1 player for Indiana.
Throughout the course of the season, the 32-year-old forward played in 62 games. He averaged 24 points per game to go along with 6.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, while also shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 35.8 percent from three-point range.
One year prior, Siakam averaged 20.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists per game in 78 appearances. He shot 51.9 percent overall and 38.9 percent from the three-point line.
Where does Siakam rank among NBA power forwards heading into this season? HoopsHype has named him at No. 8 on their list of rankings.
"One of the best driving power forwards in the NBA, Pascal Siakam uses his great quickness, length and ball-handling to get to the rim against slower opponents and finish around the basket. Siakam plays with endless energy, almost like the big-man version of Russell Westbrook, at least with his relentless attacking style," they wrote.
"Siakam can also shoot it well enough from three and the midrange to demand respect, opening up driving lanes to either attack the rim or create for teammates, as the Cameroon native is a very underrated playmaker. Siakam has earned All-Star honors in each of the last two seasons, and with an absolute engine like Tyrese Haliburton returning in 2026-27, we think this will be another great year for Siakam, even if he’ll be in his age-32 campaign and perhaps starting to lose a step athletically."
Hopefully, Siakam can continue finding the same level of success this season as he has the last two. If the Pacers want any chance at making an NBA Finals run, they'll need him to lead the charge.
Expect to see the veteran forward rise to the occasion. Siakam is still one of the most underrated players in the NBA, but will continue being a borderline go-to option for Indiana.
