After 10 years without an NBA playoff series win, the Indiana Pacers have ensured the wait was worth it this postseason. As the number six seed, the Pacers took down the Milwaukee Bucks in the First Round, then defeated the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals before falling to the Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals.
While the Celtics easily swept the Pacers, this was an important learning experience for this young Indiana team. Other than Pascal Siakam, T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin were the only Pacers regulars who had earned an NBA playoff series win this season. Yet Indiana managed to win two series as an underdog, establishing itself as a true contender in the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers now enter the offseason with important decisions to make around key free agents. Two-time NBA All-Star Pascal Siakam is a free agent after just 41 regular season games in Indianapolis as is sixth man Obi Toppin. Siakam and Toppin are the two big-name free agents for the Pacers, as most of the team's other players on expiring contracts are two-way guys who spent most of their time in the G-League.
After a successful season, here are the two best players the Pacers must re-sign in 2024 NBA free agency.
Pacers 2024 free agents
Unrestricted
- Pascal Siakam
- Doug McDermott
- James Johnson
Restricted
- Obi Toppin
- Quentin Jackson
- Oscar Tshiebwe
- Isaiah Wong
Free agents Pacers must re-sign
Obi Toppin
After three solid years with the New York Knicks, Obi Toppin came to Indiana in a deal that sent a pair of future second-round picks back to the Knicks. While he was a solid role player with New York, Toppin has elevated his game in Indy, becoming one of the league's best sixth man.
Entering this season, the Dayton product averaged 7.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 0.9 SPG, and 0.6 steals + blocks per contest. His offensive rating sat at 117 while he shot 49.2% from the floor. In his first year with the Pacers, Toppin improved in every category. The 26-year-old posted 10.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.1 steals + blocks per game. His offensive rating of 129 was a career-best as was a field goal percentage of 57.3 % (40.3% from three, 70.6% from beyond the arc).
Toppin's offensive contributions were a key reason the Pacers led the NBA in bench scoring and he was just as productive for Indiana in the postseason. Indy's strength is its second unit, and retaining Obi Toppin ensures that its best remains one of the NBA's best.
Pascal Siakam
Siakam came over from the Toronto Raptors in a block-buster midseason deal that sent Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and three first-round picks to Toronto. Unlike Toppin, statistically, Siakam's presence on the court did not make much of a difference for the Pacers. The team improved by about four points per 100 possessions defensively but also declined by 2.2 points per 100 possessions on offense. An Indy team that was 24-18 before Siakam joined was 23-18 in games the Cameroonian forward played.
But what Siakam brought was consistency. His numbers hardly varied from the regular season to the playoffs and he scored at least 12 points in every game in a Pacers uniform despite not often being the team's first option. After much-need playoff experience this season, another year with Siakam, Myles Turner, and Tyrese Haliburton will give Indiana a strong chance at a postseason run in 2025. Re-signing Pascal Siakam is crucial to maximizing the Pacers' championship potential over the next few seasons.
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