When the Pacers traded for Siakam two Januarys ago and later re-signed him, he was seen as the type of star for whom the Pacers had to settle. Indianapolis, being a non-glamour market, would never get a superstar to pair with Haliburton, so they had to search elsewhere. Siakam would have to be good enough. Across the board, he has been.

Pascal Siakam made his presence known for the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. In a closeout Game 6 victory, he scored 31 points on 10 of 18 shooting from the field. Siakam recorded three 30-point games in the series, including 39 points in Game 2 and 30 points in Game 4.