Rivalry renewed – Why this absurd New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers series could signal a massive shift in the East

MICHAEL JORDAN’S WALK-OFF message to then-Indiana Pacers coach Larry Bird after vanquishing him in Game 7 in the 1998 Eastern Conference finals is one of the most memorable moments of “The Last Dance” documentary.

“You b—-. F— you.”

It’s just one stitch in the tapestry of Pacers rivalries over the decades. For a team that hasn’t won a championship since moving from the ABA to the NBA in 1976, the Pacers have a lengthy history of deep antagonism with East rivals.

The 1990s battles with the New York Knicks have been freshly unearthed this spring with the Reggie Miller footage of the choke gesture from the 1994 East finals in heavy rotation.

The infamous “Malice at the Palace” brawl was an outgrowth of the rivalry between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons in the mid-2000s.

In the 2010s, the Pacers went head-to-head with the Miami Heat in the playoffs three consecutive years, the peak being an epic seven-gamer in 2013, all won by the Heat but all hotly contested and angst-ridden.

This is the second consecutive postseason in which the Pacers have faced the Knicks, with last season’s second-round battle won by the Pacers in a lopsided Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks essentially ran out of players. Now, as the teams face off in the 2025 Eastern Conference finals, signs point toward this being the dawn of yet another epoch in the rivalry.

The Pacers and Knicks — with neither team having been, at any point in the season, the bookmakers’ favorite to get this far — are both constructed for the medium term.

And with the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the two prohibitive favorites who were wiped out by the current Eastern Conference finalists in this year’s second round, facing potentially significant challenges in keeping their rosters intact, the window for the Knicks and Pacers is suddenly very open — and perhaps will be for a while.

THE PACERS APPEAR as if they’ll be facing some tough roster decisions this summer, specifically with the future of franchise center Myles Turner, who will be an unrestricted free agent as of June 30.

Turner is a two-way mainstay, a 10-year vet with the team in the middle of his prime at age 28. He averaged 15.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season, is one of the best shot-blocking centers in the league and is in the midst of his best-ever 3-point shooting season, touching 40% this year. He scored 16 points, secured a vital rebound and then made the game-clinching free throws as the Pacers went up 2-0 in the series Friday night.

This season, Turner made just under $20 million, making him a relative bargain and in line for a raise.

The Pacers owe stars Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam $91 million combined next season, and wing Andrew Nembhard, their former second-round steal, is headed toward a raise, from $2 million to $18 million, next season after inking a new deal last year.

But Indiana might be on the verge of entering a new era, team sources say — one not seen in two decades — one that aims to keep up with the Celtics, Cavs, Knicks and everyone else.

The small-market Pacers have not paid the luxury tax since 2005 — don’t ask Pacers fans of a certain age about the seven-year, $51 million Austin Croshere contract after the 2000 Finals — and owner Herb Simon (and older brother Mel Simon, before his death in 2009) authorized less than $10 million in luxury tax spending in franchise history. For reference, eight teams are paying more than $15 million in tax just this season.

But Simon will turn 91 later this year and has taken on new investors in recent years. And with the Pacers making another deep playoff run, ownership has indicated a willingness to increase spending next season and potentially reenter the luxury tax to keep this core together, sources said.

You won’t confuse the Pacers with the Phoenix Suns, who are paying in excess of $150 million in tax this year, and forget about even flirting with the repeater tax for dipping in year over year. The Pacers will have to remain fiscally responsible, but the salary cap is expected to increase 30% over the next three years as revenue from the new $77 billion media rights deal kicks in.

Rival teams remain skeptical at this point, having for generations seen the Pacers make decisions to avoid the tax penalty, as they monitor the Turner situation. But internally the Pacers are hoping to be able to keep Turner without sacrificing their outstanding depth.

Regardless of where this playoff run ends for Indiana, the goal is to maintain this latest incarnation for the foreseeable future.

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Thibodeau: We just didn’t find a way to win

Tom Thibodeau explains where the Knicks fell short in Game 2 against the Pacers.

WHICH BRINGS US to the Knicks. Deep-pocketed owner James Dolan spent $200 million in luxury taxes between 2002 and 2010 alone, an outlier at the time. But this year is the first time New York has paid the tax in more than a decade, an indication of the team’s time in the wilderness trying to build a contender. Now, the Knicks have finally constructed one.

Their ability to keep the team together, and add to it, is less a question of dollars and more about flexibility under the NBA’s newish apron rules. And this is why there is a belief across the league that New York is just opening its own pathway, perhaps right alongside Indiana.

At the heart of why is star Jalen Brunson’s four-year, $156 million contract extension he signed last July. Had Brunson waited until this summer to sign a new deal, he could’ve gotten five years and $270 million. This massive team-friendly maneuver has the potential to pay off for the Knicks for years into the future.

As the salary cap goes up, Brunson’s under-market contract will become increasingly valuable as New York adds to its roster.

Even with signing wing OG Anunoby to a $212 million contract and trading for Karl-Anthony Towns, who will earn $110 million over the next two seasons, the Knicks are in a position to remain under the so-called second apron for next year.

New York’s biggest challenge is depth, with the roster hollowed out by the trades for Mikal Bridges and Towns last year. Coach Tom Thibodeau has routinely relied on a core seven-man rotation throughout the regular season and playoffs.

But by staying under the second apron, the Knicks will be able to address some of these depth issues when looking at trades and free agency this summer.

Specifically, they are projected to be able to use the $6 million taxpayer midlevel to add some depth without touching their core. It might not be an earth-shattering move, but the margins matter, especially compared with other contenders.

The Celtics are already a second-apron team and will pay the punitive repeater tax next season, leaving them facing a $400-500 million payroll. Even before Jayson Tatum’s terrible Achilles injury, Boston was facing the possibility of removing a player or two from its core to manage costs and flexibility.

The Cavs are entering the second apron next season with two valued bench players, Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill, headed to unrestricted free agency.

They are in danger of losing one or both — and could face having to trade another player to re-sign them, even though team president Koby Altman said last week that team ownership has given him the green light to spend to keep the team together. Once again, though, the challenge for Cleveland and other second apron teams isn’t just the balance sheet but the punitive penalties that rob the ability to manage rosters. Going deeper into the apron just makes it all that much harder to get out of it, which is guaranteed to be a forced reality at some point.

Still, the best-laid plans are just that, especially in the fragile environment within which the NBA operates.

But the Knicks and Pacers have the basis of what every team badly strives for: the combination of a great roster and some runway.

And they’re currently staring each other down across it.