NBA FINALS: THUNDER VS. PACERS

June 10, 2025

Pascal Siakam

Indiana Pacers

Practice Day

Q. Pascal, Game 2 there were situations where when you guys got the ball, tried to read what the defense was doing, there was time for them to reset. At times guys attack right away, you were able to create things. Is that a thing that you have been working on the last two days?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Well, I mean, we got to be better getting in the paint, obviously. But yeah, they do a good job of just converging and being there in position and stuff.

It's going to take a lot of work. Again, we have to continue to get better at it.

Q. We are trying to tell your story to your fans in Spain. What do you think the young Pascal would say who went to the first basketball camp in Cameroon, if you say that you are here today fighting for your second championship in the NBA?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah, that's a good question.

I don't know. I'd just tell him to be patient, trust your instincts. You have a good read on what's happening, so just trust it. Believe in yourself no matter what. There's going to be a lot of down periods, but you just got to keep fighting. You're going to get an opportunity to do something special.

Yeah, that's just what I would tell my younger self. I think just looking at my journey and how it was, it wasn't always just a smooth sailing. It was a lot of rough times, but also a lot of great memories. It took a lot of just getting through adversity and all that.

I would just tell him those things.

Q. Rick was in here talking about the nature of the Thunder defense. If you're not taking a risk against them, you might never score. You've had opportunities. How do you balance trying to hunt the smaller opportunities versus staying in the flow of the offense?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Yeah, you just got to balance it out. Like you say, they do a good job of just packing everything, making everything disruptive. We got to be stronger with the ball obviously, but also be decisive. Whatever we decide to do, just do it.

Q. Pascal, you guys only allowed four fast break points in Game 2. You had an excellent transition defense. What goes into being so effective in that area?

PASCAL SIAKAM: We got to get stops. You get stops, you get in transition. That's the first thing. We got to also get rebounds. If you can't do those two things, I don't think you can be successful in transition. We know we can run. That's what we do. It's not really possible to run if you're not getting stops or you're not getting rebounds.

Q. We all know that the Pacers are a well-rounded team throughout the whole season. Does it bother you at all that the team is yet to have anyone score more than 20 points so far?

PASCAL SIAKAM: Not really. It bothers me that we didn't win last game. Yeah, that's probably the only thing that bothers me right now. We want to win. That's all we really want to do.

Q. I presume you've looked at the tape of the 2019 NBA Finals and seen yourself play. When you look at young Pascal, what is your reaction and what is on your mind as far as you've come a long way in these areas?

PASCAL SIAKAM: I think I'm focused on right now. I haven't been watching those tapes because I'm really in the moment right now focused on what we can do to win.

Just me as a young player overall, it's just the growth. All I could really do when I started is run, play defense, just dunk. There was nothing else. Just looking at myself now, a little bit more well-rounded skill-wise, maturity-wise. I was probably 200 pounds when I first started, my rookie year, whatever. Just being a man. I think that's pretty much it. And my skills just developing.