The 2024–25 Indiana Pacers season was the 58th season of the franchise and the 49th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rick Carlisle returned for his eighth season as head coach. The Pacers sought to build off their previous playoff success by advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1999–2000 season.
During free agency, the Pacers re-signed Pascal Siakam to a four-year, $189.5 million contract. The team lost free agent backup centers Jalen Smith to the Chicago Bulls and Oscar Tshiebwe to the Utah Jazz, while also losing James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson to season-ending achilles ruptures.
On April 1, 2025, the Pacers clinched their second consecutive playoff berth in the 2025 NBA playoffs following the Portland Trail Blazers victory over the Atlanta Hawks. On April 10, the Pacers clinched the fourth seed in the playoffs following a 114–112 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers and recorded their first 50-win season since 2013–14 with a 126–118 win over the Cavaliers on April 13.
In the first round, the Pacers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, advancing to face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals; the Pacers eliminated Cleveland in five games, advancing to a second straight Eastern Conference finals. This was the first time since the 2013–14 NBA season that the Pacers have advanced to consecutive conference finals, and their 10th NBA conference finals appearance overall. Facing the New York Knicks for the ninth time in their history, Indiana won the series in six games to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history, matching up with the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder, where they lost in seven games. In the decisive Game 7 of the Finals, star point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles tendon in the first quarter, and he was expected to miss all of next season.
The 2024–25 Pacers were well known for their unexpected comebacks throughout the playoffs, such as Game 5 against the Bucks, Game 2 against the Cavaliers, Game 1 against the Knicks, and Game 1 of the Finals against the Thunder. Due to their comebacks, the level of competition they had to face, such as both #1 seeds, the Cavaliers and Thunder, and Haliburton's astounding clutch performance throughout the playoffs, such as three game-winners vs. Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Oklahoma City, and a game-tying shot vs. New York, the Pacers were widely considered to have one of the most improbable playoff runs in NBA history.
Draft
RoundPickPlayerPosition(s)NationalityCollege / club236Juan NúñezPG SpainRatiopharm Ulm 249Tristen NewtonPG United StatesUConn250Enrique FreemanPF United StatesAkron
The Pacers entered the draft (which was two days instead of one like it had been since the NBA draft was shortened down to two rounds back in 1989) with three second-round picks, acquired in deals surrounding Victor Oladipo, Buddy Hield, and Pascal Siakam. They had traded their original first-round selection to the Toronto Raptors as part of the Siakam trade and their original second-round selection to the Milwaukee Bucks before it was eventually used by the Los Angeles Clippers in the draft.
On the second day of the draft, the Pacers traded Spanish point guard Juan Núñez, the 36th pick and cash considerations to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for the 35th pick, Johnny Furphy. They would also select point guard Tristen Newton and Enrique Freeman from the NCAA champion University of Connecticut and University of Akron, respectively, as the back-to-back 49th and 50th picks of the draft.
Roster
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Standings
Division
Conference
Game log Preseason During the preseason, the Pacers would play their final games under what was previously named Bally Sports Indiana. Bally Sports would rebrand itself to the FanDuel Sports Network as of October 21, 2024, before the start of the regular season.
|- style="background:#fcc" | 1 | October 8 | @ Atlanta | | Pascal Siakam (15) | Cole Swider (6) | Haliburton, Q. Jackson, Siakam (4) | State Farm Arena10,378 | 0–1 |- style="background:#cfc" | 2 | October 10 | @ Cleveland | | Bennedict Mathurin (25) | James Wiseman (10) | T. J. McConnell (5) | Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse16,019 | 1–1 |- style="background:#fcc" | 3 | October 14 | Memphis | | Jarace Walker (15) | Freeman, Turner (7) | Newton, Sheppard (5) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse11,221 | 1–2 |- style="background:#cfc" | 4 | October 17 | Charlotte | | Myles Turner (18) | James Wiseman (6) | Tyrese Haliburton (5) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse11,835 | 2–2
Regular season
|- style="background:#cfc" | 1 | October 23 | @ Detroit | | Myles Turner (20) | Myles Turner (9) | Pascal Siakam (9) | Little Caesars Arena20,062 | 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc" | 2 | October 25 | @ New York | | Bennedict Mathurin (20) | Myles Turner (7) | Haliburton, McConnell (5) | Madison Square Garden19,812 | 1–1 |- style="background:#fcc" | 3 | October 27 | Philadelphia | | Tyrese Haliburton (22) | Aaron Nesmith (7) | Andrew Nembhard (8) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 1–2 |- style="background:#fcc" | 4 | October 28 | @ Orlando | | Pascal Siakam (26) | Haliburton, I. Jackson, Siakam (9) | Tyrese Haliburton (10) | Kia Center18,846 | 1–3 |- style="background:#cfc" | 5 | October 30 | Boston | | Bennedict Mathurin (30) | Mathurin, Siakam (11) | Tyrese Haliburton (12) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 2–3
|- style="background:#fcc" | 6 | November 1 | @ New Orleans | | Ben Sheppard (20) | Isaiah Jackson (8) | Tyrese Haliburton (11) | Smoothie King Center15,133 | 2–4 |- style="background:#cfc" | 7 | November 4 | @ Dallas | | Myles Turner (30) | Myles Turner (11) | Tyrese Haliburton (12) | American Airlines Center19,613 | 3–4 |- style="background:#cfc" | 8 | November 6 | Orlando | | Bennedict Mathurin (20) | Bennedict Mathurin (11) | McConnell, Nembhard (5) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse16,218 | 4–4 |- style="background:#fcc" | 9 | November 8 | @ Charlotte | | Pascal Siakam (27) | Myles Turner (10) | Tyrese Haliburton (9) | Spectrum Center17,024 | 4–5 |- style="background:#cfc" | 10 | November 10 | New York | | Bennedict Mathurin (38) | Mathurin, Siakam (8) | Tyrese Haliburton (14) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 5–5 |- style="background:#fcc" | 11 | November 13 | @ Orlando | | Pascal Siakam (25) | Bennedict Mathurin (12) | Tyrese Haliburton (11) | Kia Center17,087 | 5–6 |- style="background:#fcc" | 12 | November 15 | Miami | | Obi Toppin (21) | Jarace Walker (7) | Tyrese Haliburton (8) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 5–7 |- style="background:#cfc" | 13 | November 17 | Miami | | Myles Turner (34) | Bennedict Mathurin (12) | Tyrese Haliburton (13) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse16,184 | 6–7 |- style="background:#fcc" | 14 | November 18 | @ Toronto | | Bennedict Mathurin (28) | Pascal Siakam (10) | T. J. McConnell (7) | Scotiabank Arena19,025 | 6–8 |- style="background:#fcc" | 15 | November 20 | @ Houston | | Quenton Jackson (24) | Myles Turner (9) | Tyrese Haliburton (8) | Toyota Center16,087 | 6–9 |- style="background:#fcc" | 16 | November 22 | @ Milwaukee | | Pascal Siakam (25) | Bennedict Mathurin (9) | Tyrese Haliburton (9) | Fiserv Forum17,341 | 6–10 |- style="background:#cfc" | 17 | November 24 | Washington | | Pascal Siakam (22) | Myles Turner (9) | Tyrese Haliburton (9) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 7–10 |- style="background:#cfc" | 18 | November 25 | New Orleans | | Tyrese Haliburton (34) | Mathurin, Turner (9) | Tyrese Haliburton (13) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse16,059 | 8–10 |- style="background:#cfc" | 19 | November 27 | Portland | | Pascal Siakam (29) | Bennedict Mathurin (10) | Tyrese Haliburton (10) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 9–10 |- style="background:#fcc" | 20 | November 29 | Detroit | | Pascal Siakam (21) | Myles Turner (10) | Tyrese Haliburton (5) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 9–11
|- style="background:#fcc" | 21 | December 1 | @ Memphis | | Bennedict Mathurin (19) | Bennedict Mathurin (9) | Tyrese Haliburton (7) | FedExForum15,901 | 9–12 |- style="background:#fcc" | 22 | December 3 | @ Toronto | | Tyrese Haliburton (30) | Obi Toppin (9) | Tyrese Haliburton (6) | Scotiabank Arena17,741 | 9–13 |- style="background:#fcc" | 23 | December 4 | @ Brooklyn | | Tyrese Haliburton (17) | Furphy, Turner (7) | Tyrese Haliburton (8) | Barclays Center16,748 | 9–14 |- style="background:#cfc" | 24 | December 6 | @ Chicago | | Tyrese Haliburton (23) | Siakam, Toppin, Turner (7) | Tyrese Haliburton (8) | United Center19,544 | 10–14 |- style="background:#fcc" | 25 | December 8 | Charlotte | | T. J. McConnell (30) | Pascal Siakam (11) | Tyrese Haliburton (8) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 10–15 |- style="background:#cfc" | 26 | December 13 | @ Philadelphia | | Tyrese Haliburton (32) | Siakam, Toppin (8) | Tyrese Haliburton (11) | Wells Fargo Center19,771 | 11–15 |- style="background:#cfc" | 27 | December 15 | New Orleans | | Pascal Siakam (22) | Jarace Walker (9) | Tyrese Haliburton (10) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse16,792 | 12–15 |- style="background:#cfc" | 28 | December 19 | @ Phoenix | | Pascal Siakam (25) | Pascal Siakam (18) | Tyrese Haliburton (12) | Footprint Center17,071 | 13–15 |- style="background:#cfc" | 29 | December 22 | @ Sacramento | | Pascal Siakam (19) | Pascal Siakam (10) | T. J. McConnell (10) | Golden 1 Center17,832 | 14–15 |- style="background:#cfc" | 30 | December 23 | @ Golden State | | Myles Turner (23) | Myles Turner (10) | Tyrese Haliburton (12) | Chase Center18,064 | 15–15 |- style="background:#fcc" | 31 | December 26 | Oklahoma City | | Andrew Nembhard (23) | Myles Turner (11) | Tyrese Haliburton (8) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 15–16 |- style="background:#fcc" | 32 | December 27 | @ Boston | | Tyrese Haliburton (19) | Pascal Siakiam (9) | Tyrese Haliburton (9) | TD Garden19,156 | 15–17 |- style="background:#cfc" | 33 | December 29 | @ Boston | | Tyrese Haliburton (31) | Nembhard, Siakam (8) | Andrew Nembhard (8) | TD Garden19,156 | 16–17 |- style="background:#fcc" | 34 | December 31 | Milwaukee | | Bennedict Mathurin (25) | Myles Turner (10) | Tyrese Haliburton (7) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 16–18
|- style="background:#cfc" | 35 | January 2 | @ Miami | | Tyrese Haliburton (33) | Pascal Siakam (11) | Tyrese Haliburton (15) | Kaseya Center19,959 | 17–18 |- style="background:#cfc" | 36 | January 4 | Phoenix | | Tyrese Haliburton (27) | Bennedict Mathurin (10) | Tyrese Haliburton (8) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 18–18 |- style="background:#cfc" | 37 | January 6 | @ Brooklyn | | Tyrese Haliburton (23) | Pascal Siakam (6) | Tyrese Haliburton (8) | Barclays Center16,088 | 19–18 |- style="background:#cfc" | 38 | January 8 | Chicago | | Pascal Siakam (26) | Thomas Bryant (8) | Tyrese Haliburton (13) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse16,758 | 20–18 |- style="background:#cfc" | 39 | January 10 | Golden State | | Haliburton, Siakam (25) | Bennedict Mathurin (10) | Tyrese Haliburton (10) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 21–18 |- style="background:#cfc" | 40 | January 12 | @ Cleveland | | Andrew Nembhard (19) | Jarace Walker (12) | T. J. McConnell (8) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse19,432 | 22–18 |- style="background:#fcc" | 41 | January 14 | Cleveland | | Pascal Siakam (23) | Pascal Siakam (7) | Andrew Nembhard (9) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse16,035 | 22–19 |- style="background:#cfc" | 42 | January 16 | @ Detroit | | Myles Turner (28) | Pascal Siakam (7) | Tyrese Haliburton (8) | Little Caesars Arena16,366 | 23–19 |- style="background:#cfc" | 43 | January 18 | Philadelphia | | Pascal Siakam (21) | Myles Turner (11) | Tyrese Haliburton (9) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 24–19 |- style="background:#fcc" | 44 | January 23 | San Antonio | | Bennedict Mathurin (24) | Siakam, Nembhard (4) | Andrew Nembhard (8) | Accor Arena15,935 | 24–20 |- style="background:#cfc" | 45 | January 25 | @ San Antonio | | Tyrese Haliburton (28) | Pascal Siakam (11) | Andrew Nembhard (9) | Accor Arena15,979 | 25–20 |- style="background:#cfc" | 46 | January 29 | Detroit |