It was brief - quite literally just one series during the 2025 NBA Playoffs - but there was a moment when the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers were rivals. Now, the Knicks are back in the Eastern Conference finals, and the Pacers were dependent on lottery odds. And Knicks fans can take joy in the fact that the Ping Pong balls didn’t bounce Indiana’s way.
As New York looks to compete in the East for years to come, the Pacers - with a returning Tyrese Haliburton - are going to be one of the top teams trying to contend with them. They had a chance to land a top-four pick in this year’s draft, but it fell to five, meaning it now belongs to the LA Clippers.
That should make Knicks fans happy, as the Pacers won’t be quite as good, especially in the long-term.
Knicks should be happy the Pacers fell in the lottery
Indiana traded their first-round pick in this year’s draft at the trade deadline in a package that landed it Ivica Zubac, who will be the team’s starting center for the foreseeable future.
In total, the Pacers traded Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, this year’s first (protected 1-4 and 10-30), a 2029 first, and a future second-round pick. Had their selection remained in the top four, they would have kept it. But it didn’t.
A Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Zubac-led Pacers squad that also included one of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, or Caleb Wilson would have been able to compete in the East for years to come.
And Indiana will still be able to do that. But now, the Pacers won’t be adding an elite young star to their group, and for the Knicks, that is great news, especially when looking at their future title hopes.
With the group they have in place, the Pacers will already be one of the better teams in the East for a while. Haliburton is an elite first option, especially in the postseason, and the supporting cast is great.
Adding Zubac will be crucial for them as well, as now, Haliburton has an even better pick-and-roll partner to work with.
However, one of this year’s young stars would have turned the Pacers into one of the best long-term teams in the East. They could still be that, but it’s not as obvious.
For the Knicks, who will be right there alongside the Pacers atop the East for a while, that’s great news. The competition alongside them just got weaker without them having to do anything about it.
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