Can the Pacers Go From 19 Wins to 50?

Around Christmas time last season, Pascal Siakam voiced his frustrations with the lackluster season the Indiana Pacers were having and essentially called out his teammates to start caring more about losing.

After making back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals, Indiana had fallen to 6-24 and injuries were piling up. The season was already going to be a challenge without Tyrese Haliburton able to play, but expectations were that Indiana would at minimum make the play-in tournament.

Instead, they finished with a franchise worse record 19-63 and had their eyes set on landing a top-four draft pick, which they failed to do.

An honest and transparent Pascal Siakam after the Pacers fall to 6-24:

“When we decide that losing is not ok, we’re gonna go somewhere. But if we go out there every single day and it just feels like, okay, we lost another game, it does not matter, we’re just gonna keep sinking.… pic.twitter.com/q3STW7ePF0
— Alex Golden (@AlexGoldenNBA) December 24, 2025

Fast forward to today and everyone is trying to pretend that last season didn't happen. With a healthy Haliburton returning to the lineup, and the additions of Ivica Zubac and Kelly Oubre Jr. expectations are high once again.

But can the Pacers go from 19 wins to 50?

A few of our writers at On SI have teamed up to answer this question for the blue and gold.

Alex Golden

May 6, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) drives to the basket between guard Max Strus (1) and center Jarrett Allen (31) in the fourth quarter during game two of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Throughout the history of the NBA, drastic turnarounds have happened, but it's rare. The team with the biggest turnaround was the 2007-08 Celtics. They went from 24 wins to 66, which is a 42 win difference.

San Antonio landed Tim Duncan after winning just 20 games, and then went on to win 56 the next season in 1997-98, a 36 game turnaround. Most recently, the Pistons went from 14 wins to 44 in 2024-25, improving from their previous season by 30.

If the Pacers were to go from 19 wins to 50 that would be a 31 win turnaround. It would be the 6th biggest increase in wins from one season to the next in NBA history,

Oddly enough, Indiana finished the 2024-25 season with 50 wins and then had a 31-game drop-off. The drop-off is tied for the 7th worst in NBA history by win percentage and only strengthens how much of a superstar Tyrese Haliburton is.

steph lebro — Jan 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (left) defends against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (right) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Teams above Indiana in this category are the Bulls post-Jordan and Pippen, the Cavaliers post-LeBron (twice), the Warriors the year Steph Curry only played in 5 games, the Spurs after Robinson only played in 6 games (and before they drafted Tim Duncan), the 1982 Rockets after trading Moses Malone, and the 1964 Warriors after trading Wilt Chamberlain.

It should be no surprise that when a team loses its superstar player they have a drastic drop-off. However, that's an elite group of players to put in the same conversation as Haliburton, and it speaks to the level of impact he has on the success of this team.

With his return this season, I think winning 50 games is doable for the Pacers. It will be difficult and unexpected, but this team has all the ammo needed to have a great regular season and long postseason run.

Head coach Rick Carlisle is one of the most brilliant minds in the game, Siakam is still one of the best forwards in the league, and when surrounded by strong role players next to them, this is a deep roster with the capability of winning 50 games...or maybe even more.

Tre Allen

Oubre Siakam — Jan 18, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (9) dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

I think it’s very possible. Though it was a few years ago, the Pacers were one game away from winning the NBA Finals, who were a 50-win team that year.

Obviously, when you lose your best player, and have other players on the roster who dealt with injuries, you’re going to take a step back. Not to mention that the East has also gotten tougher this past off-season. But if everybody’s healthy, people saw what type of chemistry, pace, and play style they had and how effective it was.

They won 19 games last season not because they were necessarily bad, but because they had injuries and couldn’t get a rhythm throughout the season.

I also love the addition of Kelly Oubre Jr. who can impact the game on both ends and shot the ball significantly better from the 3-point line this last season. They have the talent, depth, and play style to get to 50 wins.

I think it’s going to be about how hot of a start they get off to and can they win big games against those other top Eastern Conference teams.

Ethan Skolnick

Andrew and Aaron — Jan 19, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith (23) and guard Andrew Nembhard (2) celebrate against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A 50-win season may be too much to ask, and it's not because the Pacers are lacking the talent -- but the conference is so strong from 1 through 10 that it's possible that only one or two teams will win that many.

There aren't as many patsies -- like say, the Pacers were last season. Teams are not as incentivized to tank, with the new lottery rules, and only Brooklyn really appears to be totally talent deficient. So the East squads will need to rack up wins against the soft underbelly of the West (when's the last time we said that?), and there aren't as many of those games.

Also, it will take Indiana some time to integrate the new pieces, and also for Haliburton to get totally up to speed. In this context, a 45-to-47 victory campaign, with a surge in the playoffs, would be quite an achievement.

You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.

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