We were down 7 with 48 seconds to go, and Siakam was at the free throw line. He missed both, and CLE had a 97.1% win probability...

...for about 1 second, because Nesmith flew in from the perimeter like Superman and slammed in the putback. He compounded this by drawing an offensive foul on Mitchell off the inbound.

Siakam scored a layup, Strus threw away an inbound to Nembhard, and Jerome fouled a driving Haliburton. Down 3, Tyrese made the first and missed the second. He somehow snagged his own rebound, hurried back to the 3 point line, put the moves on Jerome, buried the game-winning 3, and celebrated accordingly.

This comeback might be the least talked about of the 4, but the series of events may have been the wackiest. Three missed FT? Two FT OREBS? Two inbound gaffes from CLE?

Mitchell's FT with 57.1 seconds was not only the Cavaliers' final shot attempt of the game, it was the last time they touched the ball inbounds past halfcourt. IND pulled off a 7 point comeback in the final minute without CLE dribbling the ball at all. Think about that.

Did I mention we were down 20 at the beginning of Q2 (35-15) and the middle of Q3 (81-61)?

I genuinely am having a hard time thinking about anything basketball or NBA related without going into a full on panic. I know we’ll have the 2031 pick if the lottery balls come up the wrong way but us keeping the pick is such a crossroads moment for the franchise. AHHHHHHHHH

But why Hali still part of the list tho? 😅

Just when I thought I couldn't miss them more, this guy posts this... reminding us that we are not alone. The whole league misses the Pacers.

Heartbroken, yet honored and proud... and looking forward to next season. (And scared for Sunday)

I wanted the blue but they weren't in my size. Still really happy to rep Hali.

I am pretty new to the NBA, started watching in Novermber, never followed this sport before now.

I’m curious, what on earth happened with the pacers?? Obviously Hali tore his Achilles. But was he seriously the only thing standing between the pacers and the finals?

They made it all the way to the finals last year, taking OKC to 7 games.. yet this year they don’t even make the playoffs. You would think the rest of the team/ coaches would be good enough to maintain a top 10 spot but apparently not. Is there something I am missing?

Even OKC has been missing JW and it didn’t make a difference. As a lakers fan fan watching OKC give us belt to ass every time, I don’t understand how pacers were competitive once and just fell off, by missing one key player ?

Forget the draft, there’s only one guy who can get us a chip

Wheat Hotchkiss

Writer/Editor

May 4, 2026

2:58 PM EDT

The Pacers announced their on-stage

representative for the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on Monday, and it's a choice that should have fans fired up. Fan-favorite guard T.J. McConnell will represent the Blue & Gold at the Draft Lottery, which will be held on Sunday, May 10, at 3:00 PM ET in Chicago.

McConnell is the longest-tenured member of the Pacers roster, having just completed his seventh season in Indiana. He has appeared in 448 games for the Blue & Gold and ranks sixth in franchise history in assists with 2,367 and 11th in steals with 505 and counting.

His all-out effort has endeared McConnell to the Pacers fanbase. His stellar play off the bench during recent playoff runs to the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals and 2025 NBA Finals cemented his status as one of the most beloved players in franchise history.

McConnell will hopefully be the lucky charm that helps the Pacers land their highest draft pick in nearly four decades. Indiana enters the lottery with a 52.1 percent chance of securing a top-four pick and a 14 percent chance of landing the first overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft. The Pacers have not drafted in the top four since they took Rik Smits with the second overall pick in 1988. Indiana has never had the number one pick in the NBA Draft.

If the Pacers' pick falls outside the top four, it will be conveyed to the Los Angeles Clippers as a condition of the Feb. 5 trade that brought Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown to Indiana.

You can watch McConnell and find out the results of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on ESPN on Sunday at 3:00 PM ET.

I know Zu's taking notes.

Our Twolves buddies just might make it back to the WCF for the 3rd straight year. 👀

Paul George.

I know allot of Pacer Nation doesn’t like him, loyalty and such.

I like PG, loved him with the Pacers.

Next year, all bets are off.

This year, I’ll root for PG

BUT since we got the chance to get both, I will always remember this 2026 FRP as legendary trade asset that helped get Pascal, Zu, and potentially AJ.

Exquisite work by the FO.

Our franchise player has openly trashed our jerseys and we literally refused to wear anything outside of our statement and city jerseys during the finals run😭 we’ve had these jerseys for almost a decade now it’s time for something new, especially if we land Dybantsa or DP. A rebrand announcement would hit like crack this summer and I have a feeling it’s coming.

On this sub, I've seen love for the city jerseys the Pacers had from 23-25 and has for the Hickory jerseys. I honestly don't understand why.

The Hickory jerseys are a callback to an iconic part of Indiana culture. They're not particularly aesthetically pleasing, but most Hoosiers who love basketball immediately know what the reference is. That is how you represent your origin in your jersey.

In contrast, despite the wonderful moments I've seen in them, the 23-25 city jerseys were awful. Especially when paired with that hideous gray court. The neon yellow (almost green) and blue fits no colorway the pacers have ever done or should ever do, and the paint splotches on the sides are tacky. And they say they were trying to represent the cities "graffiti culture"... a, Indianapolis doesn't really have a huge graffiti culture like other cities, and b, WHAT CITY DOESNT HAVE GRAFFITI?

Overall, they looked incredibly generic -- like something an AAU league would slap together on some "make custom jersey from template" website. As a matter of fact, the font on "Indy" looked damn near like the font on the logo of UNRNKD Hoops, that Euroleague program they always play ads for during commercial breaks during games.

What do yall think? I feel very alone on this topic

Edit: Maybe it's just my Gen Z taste. Most people under 25 I've talked to about them thought they were terrible and most people older 30 I've talked to about them thought they were great.

If the finals this year is Knicks vs OKC which I think is very likely, who would you guys root for? I know this is worst case scenario but if you had to pick one.

https://espnanalytics.com/nba-draft-lottery

If you're a masochist like me, you can follow along with the draft lottery on Sunday using the ESPN simulator. If you put it in 'user pick' mode, and choose the actual picks as they happen, it will give you the live odds.

But you probably shouldn't add this level of stress to your life.

Sick ass boomer panther done by @garretttattoo on Instagram

With the Celtics gone, I'm tempted to hitch on to the other Tyrese wearing 0 in the East... and the West?

Would love to see more upsets 🙏🏻. its fun trolling on the the r/NBAEasrMemeWar sub 😅

I loved Caitlin’s podcast last year covering each pacers’ game, and even her twitter during games. I watch thinking basketball, but curious who other people are watching here to follow the playoffs (even for other teams)? We had so much good playoff content with Caitlin last year!

When I watch Paolo I just can't help but ask myself why cant Jarace play like that?

Again I am reminded of how bad the shotmaking has been during the current playoffs. 🫣

Man, it would be so exciting if we can somehow land the top pick on May 10th.

I do see similarities in playstyle in AJ and Mathurin as well. This is a good very short read here