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A high lottery pick appears in the Indiana Pacers future

The Pacers are one of six teams to never pick 1st overall
Austin Dobbins|
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Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are off to a putrid start for a team that was just in the NBA Finals. Actually one of the worst ever. And this is in large part to injuries, along with the departure of Myles Turner.

And this is not a case of tanking, the Pacers are bad at just about everything, and it shows with their 6-28 record and current 10-game losing streak. Several core players from the Finals run have been in and out of the lineup, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith.

The Pacers are on pace for Pacers are on pace for a 18-64 record, a 32-win decline from last season.

Fundamental Struggles

The Pacers went from a top 10 offense in the NBA, to dead last. In points per game (109.2), net rating (108.4), field goal percentage (42.9%), three-point percentage (32.1%), and in assists per game (23.3). Pascal Siakam has been the Pacers best player, but Siakam alone isn't enough. The Pacers lack spacing, creation, their pace, and playmaking without Tyrese Haliburton and his absence can't be made any clearer.

A Good Year to Be Bad

However, the good news for the Pacers is that --although I'll never advocate for tanking-- they are bad, and bad enough that they have a really good chance to land a high pick in a stacked draft.

The Pacers are one of six teams to never hold the first pick, along with the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, and Denver Nuggets.

The Pacers have selected third three times in their franchise's history and the last time they were in the top 10 was 2022 when they selected Bennedict Mathurin 6th overall.

So this Pacers season is punted, get healthy, and look to the draft, look to the future and the growth of the young players.

With the league's worst record, the Pacers currently hold 14.0% chance at the 1st pick, 13.4% at 2nd, 12.7% at 3rd, 12.0% at 4th, and a 47.9% chance at 5th according to Tankathon.com.

In a loaded 2026 NBA Draft, the Pacers have a chance to add a franchise-changing talent to run alongside Tyrese Haliburton and accelerate a return to contention.

What are the odds of Indiana getting an All-NBA Player in the draft?

Our own Adel Burton and Matt Hanifan take a look at the 2026 class below.

Picking in the top 4 can alter the Pacers trajectory, Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, and many others can all make an instant impact, quite similarly to the rookies from this season.

Having a high overall draft pick is the way to get the Pacers back into contention, and while they will continue to fight night in and night out, it's clear that the attention will look to the lottery balls rather than the championship banners, at least for now.

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Austin Dobbins
AUSTIN DOBBINS

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