2026-27 Season Preview: Indiana Pacers

The Pacers will welcome back Tyrese Haliburton after he missed the entire 2025-26 season due to injury.

Offseason Recap

•

Last Season

:

19-63 (14th in East, missed postseason)

• Key Additions

Larry Nance Jr., Kelly Oubre Jr., Braden Smith

Every Pacers move this offseason

Season Outlook

On June 22, 2025, during Game 7 of

the NBA Finals

, Tyrese Haliburton

suffered a torn Achilles

— an injury that not only dashed Indiana’s championship hopes, but also set the stage for a difficult 19-63 campaign the following season while he recovered.

After enduring one of the largest season-to-season plunges during the 2025-26 campaign, will the pendulum swing back in Indiana’s favor in 2026-27?

Haliburton is healthy and will be 16 months removed from his injury when the season tips off in October. The Pacers added former NBA All-Defensive center Ivica Zubac

at last year’s trade deadline

and signed a pair of veterans this summer in Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. to bolster their depth. Meanwhile, the rest of the 2025 Finals core returns, including Pascal Siakam, TJ McConnell, Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard and Obi Toppin.

If Indiana’s previous run to the Finals proved anything, it’s that you should not underestimate Haliburton and the Pacers.

Breakout Candidate: Jarace Walker

With the Pacers beset by injuries last season, Walker maximized his extra opportunities. In his third NBA campaign, Walker put up career highs in points (11.6), rebounds (5.1), assists (2.5) and 3-pointers (1.8) in 25.7 minutes per game.

The 23-year-old wing hit his stride following the All-Star break, averaging 14.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 3-pointers while shooting 39.2% from beyond the arc over his final 22 games of the season.

The return of Haliburton will only provide more open looks for Walker, who is a career 38.6% 3-point shooter. Haliburton’s court vision and gravity, both in transition and the halfcourt, consistently generate high-value scoring chances for perimeter shooters.

1 Number To Know

6

— The Pacers have ranked in the top five in both ball and player movement in each of the last six seasons. No other team has ranked in the top five in both more than twice over that stretch.

Though the Pacers ranked

28th

offensively last season, the structure of their offense was still there. They ranked fifth in both the percentage of their 3-point attempts that were off the catch and the percentage that were wide open. But they went from top 10 (the season prior) to below average in 3-point percentage, while also seeing the league’s biggest drop in field goal percentage in the paint.

The return of Tyrese Haliburton should fix a lot of their issues, but they will also need Aaron Nesmith to rediscover his touch after seeing a huge drop in field goal percentage in the paint.

— John Schuhmann

5 Must-See Matchups

• Oct. 23: Mavericks vs. Pacers —

Expect a raucous Gainbridge Fieldhouse as Haliburton plays his first home game in 492 days. The Indiana faithful will give him a hero’s welcome as the Pacers host Cooper Flagg and the Mavs.

• Oct. 28: 76ers vs. Pacers —

In their first nationally broadcast game of the season, the Pacers face the new-look Sixers with Jaylen Brown and LeBron James in a clash of two teams looking to leap back into East contention this season.

• Nov. 7: Nuggets vs. Pacers —

This matchup between Indiana and Denver marks the NBA’s

35th game in Mexico

since 1992, but the first one to ever feature the Pacers. The Nuggets have won 11 of the past 12 meetings with the Pacers; can Indy break that trend?

• Nov. 13: Knicks vs. Pacers —

A historic rivalry. A chance to test themselves against the defending champs. And the added stakes of the

Emirates NBA Cup

. You don’t need much more to hype up this edition of Pacers vs. Knicks.

• Feb. 5: Pacers vs. Thunder —

A 2025 Finals rematch with Haliburton returning to the arena where he suffered his Achilles injury nearly 20 months prior. In two matchups last season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up a career-best 55 points in OKC’s 2OT win in October, before the Pacers bounced back with a three-point win in January behind a trio of 20-point games from Siakam, Walker and Nembhard.

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Complete Regular Season Schedule

Preseason Storylines

After watching rehab videos, training montages, practice footage and scrimmages over the summer, hoops fans will be watching Haliburton closely to see how he looks in live game action against NBA opposition.

In addition to welcoming back Haliburton, Pacers fans will get an extended look at Zubac, who only appeared in five games for Indy after being acquired at last year’s trade deadline. How Zubac and Haliburton play off one another and develop their on-court chemistry will be intriguing to see play out.

Finally, attention turns to the new additions to the lineup, namely Oubre Jr. and Nance Jr., and how they can bolster Indiana’s depth as the Pacers aim to rebound from 19-63 back into title contention.

Complete Preseason Schedule