Where the Pacers rank in the NBA GM Survey

General Managers across the NBA completed their annual survey this week. They responded to nearly 50 questions and voted on a range of topics including who they think will win the championship, win the MVP, and much more.

Where do the Pacers rank in the minds of the GM's in the league?

•Eastern Conference Ranking: 7th.

When ranking the Eastern Conference, the GM's listed the field in this order:

1. New York
2. Philadelphia
3. Cleveland
4. Boston
5. Detroit
6. Toronto
7. Indiana
8. Miami

This isn't necessarily a huge knock on the Pacers, but more about how stacked the conference has become. The Pacers did receive some votes as high as the No. 3-seed in the East.

•Best point guard in the NBA: No Haliburton.

The survey results ended up with SGA, Jalen Brunson, Luka Doncic, and Steph Curry on the list. You would think Haliburton would be one of the next few names mentioned if they listed more than four players. For this question, GM's didn't give a full list, but instead just listed one name. Those four players totaled 100% of the votes.

•Most underrated player acquisition: Kelly Oubre Jr. made the list.

Tobias Harris received the most votes for this question, as he joined the Western Conference Champions. Other names included Mitchell Robinson with Boston, Naz Reid with Charlotte, LaMelo Ball with Minnesota, and Lu Dort with Atlanta.

A little ways down the list, we see Kelly Oubre Jr. with Indiana. He received the 11th most votes on this list, and he certainly has the ability to make an even greater impact than that for the Pacers this year. Oubre Jr. will likely spend most of the season as the 6th man for Indiana, while stepping into the starting lineup whenever anyone from the starting five is out.

•Most improved team in 2026-2027: The Indiana Pacers top the list.

Even though this one feels like a given, it was still nice to see the Pacers listed at number one on a survey where they were mostly ignored.

The Pacers received 43% of the vote on this question, while the Wizards came in second at 23%. Even if things go terribly wrong for the Pacers this year, you would expect a 20+ game improvement from last season at the very least. There's also a very real possibility of a 30-35 game leap from a season ago as well.

•Best perimeter defender in the NBA: No Pacers listed.

Ten players were included in the results for this question, but no Pacers made the cut. Amen Thompson, Alex Caruso, and Ausar Thompson are at the top, with guys like OG Anunoby and Derrick White towards the bottom. Andrew Nembhard may have something to say about this list later this season.

•Best coach in the NBA/ best in-game adjustments: Rick Carlisle made each list.

In this GM vote for best overall coach, Rick Carlisle came in at number four on the list. Erik Spoelstra got the most votes, with Mark Daigneault and Mike Brown coming in at numbers two and three.

As for who makes the best in-game adjustments? Carlisle came in at number one with 30% of the votes. That is high praise from across the league for the future Hall-of-Famer. Carlisle also had the most votes in the survey for head coach that runs the best offense (47%).

•Which active player will make the best head coach someday?

TJ McConnell made the list at number two for this question, with Mike Conley coming in at number one.

•Where else were the Pacers mentioned across the survey?

-Tied for 5th in "toughest to predict" this season.
-8th in "most fun to watch."
-"Best passer"- Haliburton at number three.

•Where were the Pacers most notably left off?

-Haliburton not listed under "who you want taking a shot with the game on the line."
-No Pacers mentioned under "best leader."

Overall, it was a bit of a mixed bag for the Indiana Pacers in this survey. You can tell the GM's are a little undecided on this team, while still knowing in the back of their mind they could still be a force in the Eastern Conference. You can check out the entire survey here: https://www.nba.com/news/2026-27-nba-gm-survey

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