Pascal Siakam found joy with the Pacers after ‘it was just not fun at all' prior to the Raptors trading him

Hamilton Spectator

6 hours ago

Pascal Siakam
says he's in a better situation and has rediscovered the joy of playing basketball.
His
Indiana Pacers fell short of the ultimate goal
after a hard-fought, seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the former Toronto
Raptors
forward says he has rekindled happiness with this new club.
'A couple years ago, I think basketball was just, yeah, it was kind of dark for me. It was just not fun at all,' Siakam told reporters
in the post-game interview
Sunday night after losing the championship game.
'Playing with these guys has been so incredible but just found my joy for the game and just playing with so much swagger and happiness and that's all I want to do as a player. I lost that for a while.'
The 31-year-old was a big part of the Raptors' team that
won the NBA title in 2019
, and
one of the top five players in franchise history
. But Toronto wasn't able to make it past the conference semifinals after the championship season and he faced
online racist criticism
from those who blamed him for Toronto's elimination to the Celtics.
Siakam followed up the NBA title with two all-star selections in Toronto and was named to two all-NBA teams. But the Raptors didn't have much success in the playoffs. After the 2022-23 season, team president Masai Ujiri suggested there was a
level of 'selfishness'
that derailed the club.
The Raptors then turned to rebuild and OG Anunoby was traded to New York and
Siakam was traded to the Pacers
at the 2024 trade deadline.
Now that he's with the Pacers — a team known for its depth and offensive balance — Siakam says he has regained the thrill of the game and is grateful for how the organization and the community at large in Indiana has embraced him.
'I didn't believe this was possible because of the situation I was in and to see how amazing we did this year and all the things we accomplished,' he said. 'Obviously, there's no moral victory because we want to win, and we thought we did a lot to put ourselves in position to win, and obviously it sucks that we didn't do that. But I'm super proud of that.'
The former Toronto Raptor was caught on camera huddling with his Indiana Pacers before Game 6,
Siakam led the Pacers in scoring during the playoffs this year, averaging 20.5 points per game. He had 16 points in Game 7, which wasn't nearly enough after the team's other all-star Tyrese Haliburton
suffered a lower leg injury
and left the game in the first quarter.
Last summer, the
Pacers signed Siakam to a four-year, $189.5 million contract
.