‘You always have a chance’: Siakam using Raptors run as inspiration ahead of Finals

Though they’re coming into the NBA Finals as the underdog, the Indiana Pacers have the leg up in one big category: championship experience.

Pascal Siakam may be the Pacers’ X-Factor in the upcoming winner-take-all series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and while players like Alex Caruso and Thomas Bryant have both also won titles, neither has been as central to those victories as the former Raptors star.

Now, heading into his second NBA Finals, the Eastern Conference Finals MVP is channelling those past experiences as he prepares to take down the juggernaut that is OKC.

“One of the things I learned from those guys is like, no matter what, we just always felt like we had a chance,” Siakam said at Finals Media Day on Wednesday. “When we got down — we were down 0-2 in Milwaukee, we’ve had series where it was really tough, we had to go into Philly and win games on the road — I think all those experiences definitely stay with me and I try to transfer that spirit to my team. …

“Whatever happens, just always playing the right way and understanding that you always have a chance. That’s something I learned from (the Raptors).”

Siakam had a stellar run to the Finals for the Raptors in 2019, with many considering that season as a whole to be his breakout. He wound up averaging 19.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists in that championship set against the Warriors, including an assertive 32-point explosion to help the Raptors win Game 1.

As a 25-year-old, Siakam was the second-best player on that championship team. Now, at 31, he’s inarguably the second-best player on the Pacers once again, and will likely play an even bigger role.

With how well he’s performed in the post-season so far — averaging 21.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists with a 58.8 effective field goal percentage — the shake-and-bake forward is getting his flowers.

“Great versatility on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he can play in the pick-and-roll game as a handler or setter. He’s an isolation player that can go get them a high-quality shot, he can get fouled, he can post smaller matchups. He’s kind of a matchup problem, quite frankly,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “And then defensively, he’s one of their best help defenders, he’s always eating space like all the great help defenders, he’s got great length, he can always play on the ball, he can play outside and inside. He’s about as rangy and versatile of a player as you can get at that position.

“Somebody we have high respect for and obviously a huge part of the series.”

More than just his play on the court, however, Siakam is getting some love for what he brings to the Pacers locker room as a veteran leader, guiding a young team to their first NBA Finals in 25 years — the sorts of intangibles that only come from playoff scars.

“Yeah, I think Pascal is someone who has actually been there before, who’s actually seen the ups and the downs and the highs and the lows, knows how NBA Finals Media Day actually works, the little stuff like that, it helps,” Pacers teammate Myles Turner said. “It helps bringing someone like that into your locker room. He’s grown into one of the better players in our league’s history.”

He’s even being recognized for his high-stakes experience from when he won a G League title with the Raptors 905.

“The G League is a grind. People don’t have enough appreciation for what it takes to work your way up. … It’s a developmental league, you go there to develop, and he was able to develop into an MVP on a championship team there,” Turner added. “So you take those same habits and you apply them to this level, and they’re already ingrained in your head, and he was able to do the same thing on the biggest stage.”

Siakam’s trophy case is starting to fill up, and his case for a top player in the league is becoming irrefutable. Should he win a second title, overcoming the odds against the Thunder, his place in basketball history could be cemented.

It all starts Thursday, as the Pacers gear up for the fight of their life against Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.