Draymond Green Believes That Pacers Are Title Contenders

A little over 13 months ago the Indiana Pacers were on the cusp of winning their first NBA Championship. Unfortunately, Tyrese Haliburton suffered a horrific injury in the first quarter of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals and it sucked all of the air out of the building. The Pacers couldn’t overcome the loss of their superstar point guard in the second half and fell to the heavy favorited Thunder 103-91.

It was the most magical season in Pacers NBA history and it was over in the blink of an eye. Losing Game 7 was painful, but what made it hurt even worse was not being able to see how it could have played out with a healthy Haliburton in the mix.

Pacers fans will be the first to tell you that Indiana would have won it all had Tyrese not gotten hurt, but not everyone agrees. OKC was the best team in the league, they had the best defense in the NBA, the Most Valuable Player was leading their squad, and they were playing at home in one of the toughest environments to win in.

While we will never know what could have happened, it is the biggest “what if” in Pacers franchise history. This upcoming season is all about getting back to the NBA Finals and proving that the magical 2025 postseason run was not just a flash in the pan. This is a legit championship contender when at full strength.

At the conclusion of his interview with Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on The Draymond Green Show, the Warriors forward left Carlisle with this message:

“I’m looking forward to seeing you guys back at full strength. I know you feel the same way, but I really believe you guys had it (Game 7 of the NBA Finals), and I have zero doubt that y’all are capable of getting back there.”

When a four-time NBA Champion says that a team is capable of getting back to the NBA Finals you don’t take that with a grain of salt. Green is someone that played a massive role on the Warriors’ title teams and he can recognize a great team when he sees one. He sincerely believes that the Pacers can win it all and for good reason.

Nonetheless, in order for a team to be able to win it all, they need great players. Rick Carlisle made it abundantly clear to Green (and anyone listening) that Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton are great players.

“Tyrese and Pascal, these guys are great players. They are not good players. They are not very good players. They are great players and we’re building it around them.”

It was reassuring to hear Carlisle refer to these players as great, because far too often they get overlooked by the media.

Stephen A. Smith spent the entire 2025 postseason saying Haliburton wasn’t a superstar. Then you had a random group of players rank him as the ‘most overrated player’ during the 2024-25 season.

The Athletic ran the exact same survey the following season, and Haliburton still received votes for being the most overrated player despite missing the entire season. And in addition to Haliburton making the list, opposing players had the audacity to vote for Pascal Siakam too.

The amount of “disrespect” these players receive is a clear sign of how special they truly are. In a down season when nobody is thinking or talking about the Pacers, opposing players still couldn’t help but cast votes for the Pacers star-studded duo.

The saying, “If you have haters, you must be doing something right,” couldn’t be more fitting for Haliburton and Siakam. As the leaders of the Pacers team, they complement each other in ways few star duos can. Haliburton’s creativity and playmaking pair seamlessly with Siakam’s versatility and relentless scoring, creating an offensive combination that’s near-impossible to contain.

Indiana may have finished with one of the worst records in the NBA last season, but that finish says far more about their injury-riddled season than their true potential. With Haliburton and Siakam healthy, Indiana has the talent, experience, and star power to climb right back to the top of the Eastern Conference by season’s end.

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