WATCH: Indiana Pacers welcome back Malcolm Brogdon in his return to Indiana
Malcolm Brogdon returned to Gainbridge Fieldhouse tonight for the first time since the Indiana Pacers traded him to the Boston Celtics. The talented guard spent three years in Indiana, where he averaged 18.9 points and 6.3 assists per game in 146 appearances. He helped guide the Pacers to a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference back in 2020.
He fondly remembered his time with the blue and gold before the game, but he didn't think there was any added emotion returning to Indianapolis. "I don't think so. It's another game we've got to win," Brogdon said.
With Brogdon as the starting point guard, the Pacers went 75-71. They reached the playoffs in 2020 and the play-in tournament in 2021, though they ultimately did not win a postseason game with Brogdon on the roster. The team did not reach the heights they hoped for in that era.
Now, though, Brogdon is thriving in a sixth man role with Boston and the Pacers are off to a great start in year one of a rebuild. Both parties are doing well after going their separate ways in the summer of 2022.
"I think Malcolm is a tremendous player," Pacers head coach Rick Carlise said before the game. They overlapped for the 2021-22 season. "To me, he's one of a very small group of guys in this league that can do just about anything on a basketball court."
Brogdon joined a Pacers team that was looking to move on past the first round of the playoffs, and it looked like they had the talent to do so at first. They had the win percentage of a 50-win team in the abbreviated 2019-20 season. But the team went in the wrong direction in the following campaigns, which led to a directional change in Indiana last year. They have a new-look team now.
"They play faster. When I was here, we had two bigs in the lineup. We played a more methodical, halfcourt game," Brogdon said of the Pacers' fresh style. "They're a faster, more exciting team, to be honest. They've got an All-Star in Haliburton who is playing at a very high level," he added. He noted that maturity, built over time, will help the team improve.
Earlier this season, the Pacers beat the Celtics in Boston. Brogdon had 18 points that night, but Indiana's All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton had a terrific outing to help the Pacers win. The two overlapped for eight games last season, and Brogdon shared that Haliburton has taken a "huge step," this campaign.
The now-Celtics guard played in 75 games in Gainbridge Fieldhouse as a Pacer, but tonight is Brogdon's first game back as a Celtic. He received a welcome back message from the franchise before the game tipped off. Here is the end of said message and Brogdon's response.
Brogdon and Carlisle embraced at the scorers table just before the Celtics guard checked in for the first time with 4:43 to go in the first quarter. "Malcolm meant a lot. He was one of the veteran leaders in the locker room. When I got here, he welcomed me with open arms," Pacers center Jalen Smith said before the game.
The Pacers and Celtics will both hope to close the season strong. Tonight, in Malcolm Brogdon's return to Indiana, both teams kick off their post All-Star game stretch with the hopes of doing just that.
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