2 unrealistically bold Pacers predictions for the 2025-26 NBA season

The Indiana Pacersas magical as the 2024-25 season was for them despite falling short of an NBA championship, more likely than not, they will soon hit a wall for the upcoming campaign. While they have enough talent to compete in a weaker conference, their chances of making a deep playoff run the way they did in 2024 and 2025 are as close to zero as possible. Tyrese Halliburton’s injury and after the departure of Myles Turner.

Creating things Worse for the Pacers is the fact that TJ McConnell will miss at least a month to start the season, further depleting the team that will be denied. A team that made the most of its depth last season is about to face a rude awakening, and no other team in the league will feel sorry for them, except perhaps the similarly depleted Boston Celtics.

Still, missing several key guys for the Pacers means an extended opportunity for some of their remaining healthy players to step up. Pascal Siakam will have the biggest workload of his career, but he can’t be alone in making up for all the production they lost after the events of the past few months.

With that said, here are two unrealistically bold predictions for the Pacers for the 2025-26 NBA season.

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Say hello to Andrew Nembhardt, the first All-Star

With Halliburton out, the Pacers will need someone to take over the general duties of the team. Luckily for them, there’s a more than capable replacement (or at least a worthy gap-filler in the meantime) already listed in Andrew Nembhard.

Nembhard is entering the fourth season of his NBA career and is getting better with each season. His stats don’t jump off the page, as he was more than content to play a supporting role alongside Halliburton and company, but he was taking small steps in improving his game. Last year, his game and defense improved quite a bit, making him a solid secondary ball catcher who can hound opposing ball holders.

Alas, Nembhard’s stats don’t exactly jump off the page. He averaged 10 points and five assists per game last year, and his efficiency in the regular season was far from the best. He even shot 30 percent worse than last year, and he is already not the best three-point shooter in the first place.

But the void left by Halliburton’s injury may still make Nembhard a monster. Nembhard is the type of guy who steps up when the moment calls for him. He’s the rare breed of player who shines brightest when the lights are at their brightest, and the situation definitely calls for the fourth-year guard to play his best basketball yet. The Pacers need him, for their own good.

Seriously, with Haliburton likely out for the year and McConnell at the start of the season, who else is going to handle most of the work for the Pacers? The Pacers guard depth chart is seriously scary: listed after it ESPN’s Indiana depth chart includes Quenton Jackson and Cam Jones, both of whom don’t exactly have a long track record of contributing at the NBA level.

Benedikt Maturin will be tasked with delivering the big goal, but he is not exactly someone who can be relied upon to create scoring opportunities for others as well.

Whatever the case, the circumstances are definitely shaping up for Nembhardt to be one of the NBA’s biggest players this season.

In 40 playoff games, Nembhardt averaged 13.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game on 51/47/80 shooting while sharing the shooting duties with Haliburton, McConnell and Siakam. While that shooting efficiency may not be sustainable throughout the season, Nembhard is more than capable of improving those counting stats.

It’s not too far-fetched to think he could average around 19 points, five rebounds and eight assists per game, which should be good enough to earn him All-Star honors, especially considering other injuries in the Eastern Conference. Currently, both Tyler Herro and Darius Garland, 2025 All-Stars, are sidelined with ankle and toe injuries, respectively.

What makes this unrealistic is that the likes of LaMelo Ball, Desmond Bane, Brandon Ingram, Josh Giddei and Coby White should also be considered for an All-Star roster spot. Ball, in particular, could be the favorite to do so, provided he stays healthy. Nembhard could be the odd man out in this scenario.

But if Nembhard averages the aforementioned numbers while keeping the Pacers afloat, the narrative should be on his side — convince fans, members of the media and coaches to reward the Canadian international.

Jay Huff is having a better 2025-26 campaign than Pacers shortstop Myles Turner

Pacers fans will never forget how influential turner wasnot only on the field, but also in the community, throughout his time with the team. Unfortunately, Turner is now considered a traitor by a large portion of Pacers fans due to the way he decided to ditch the team in free agency in favor of their rival Milwaukee Bucks.

Turner’s departure, after a trip to the NBA Finals, put the Pacers in such a situation. Their center options are far from proven, with Isaiah Jackson out after an Achilles tear and Jay Huff yet to establish himself as a consistent rotation player.

But the Pacers have established a winning identity under head coach Rick Carlisle, and a player like Turner in the middle is part of that. if someone Huff is the guy who will do it for the Pacersas he has shown flashes of being an elite shot blocker and sniper from deep.

In 36 minutes, Huff averaged nearly four triples and three blocks per contest last year with the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s impossible for him to keep up that pace in a bigger role now. But Huff is only 27 years old, and there may be a level he could unlock in his game.

Is he unlikely to outplay Turner next year? Yes, it’s almost impossible for him to do that. But this is an unrealistic, bold prediction, and Huff ended up being the biggest diamond unearthed this offseason, averaging 13 points per game, eight rebounds, 2.5 blocks and nearly two 3-pointers per game as the starting center became his and his alone.