Pascal Siakam held an Indiana Pacers team meeting at his home ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season, and what he said is a big reason they are in the NBA Finals.
Despite being underestimated at every step, the Indiana Pacers have had a brilliant playoff run. After their win in Game 6, they are one win away from winning the NBA championship.
The Pacers have pushed the Oklahoma City Thunder to their limit. In fact, in Game 6, the Pacers forced the Thunder into some unfortunate history in the NBA Finals.
Their stifling defense was absolutely phenomenal, with Jalen Williams’ historically poor NBA Finals outing serving as proof of their dominance.
While Pascal Siakam’s Game 6 heroics were the key, it was a team effort from the Pacers to shut them down.
But it appears the Cameroonian was the catalyst for their playoff success, dating back to a meeting before the start of the season.
Obi Toppin spoke after Game 6 of the NBA Finals. When talking about Pascal Siakam as a leader, Toppin shared an interesting story.
He revealed that Siakam held a team meeting at his house ahead of the new season. Coming off an Eastern Conference Finals run, Siakam reminded the Pacers what it takes to succeed in the NBA, pointing to his championship success on the 2019 Toronto Raptors.
“Super meaningful. Pascal is a great guy. Welcomed all of us with open arms into his space, and he’s been in this position before. Like he’s been in the Finals. He’s won the Finals. So, he knows what it takes.
“And he understood the team that we had last year, we could have been in this position. We could have been in the Finals.
“And so he made us understand that we didn’t want to be happy just losing — or losing in the Eastern Conference Finals. He knew what it took to get here.
“So he instilled that in all of our minds, and we all knew what we had to do to get to this point. So we worked all year to be able to have this success.”
This playoff run has truly been the Pascal Siakam show. While Tyrese Haliburton has earned all the plaudits with his game-winners, Siakam has been the Pacers’ most reliable star.
Siakam’s consistency against the New York Knicks allowed him to win the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award.
And during these NBA Finals, Siakam has ensured the Pacers don’t get complacent. This leadership is resonating with the rest of the Pacers.
Tyrese Haliburton defended Siakam from Charles Barkley after the NBA legend critiqued his effort level. Clearly, there is a lot of respect for the All-Star within the Pacers’ ranks.
The young players on the Pacers all look up to Siakam, not just because of his championship experience, but also because of the way he carries himself in the locker room.
Should the Indiana Pacers pull off the comeback in Game 7 and win the NBA championship, Siakam is the favorite to win the Finals MVP award.
