Isaiah Jackson to undergo surgery Monday after suffering torn right Achilles tendon

Isaiah Jackson has a painful and difficult rehab ahead of him. The Pacers, meanwhile, will need to make a move to add depth at center. They resume play Monday in Dallas.

Isaiah Jackson suffered a significant injury in the sixth game of the 2024-25 season — while in a contract year.

For the second time in 10 days, the Indiana Pacers had a center suffer a torn Achilles. It happened to James Wiseman in the first game of the season in Detroit.

Then on Friday, Nov. 1, Isaiah Jackson suffered a torn right Achilles tendon late against the New Orleans Pelicans. An MRI on Saturday confirmed that it was torn and the team announced late Saturday that he plans to undergo surgery on Monday.

Jackson jumped up to challenge a shot by Brandon Ingram and it tore on his power up. He immediately reached for his right heel, hobbled, then made his way back to the bench. After stopping briefly, Jackson went straight back to the locker room with the assistant of veteran James Johnson and associate head athletic trainer Carl Eaton.

This happened with 7:58 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Pacers lost to the Pelicans 125-118 to drop to 2-4 on the season.

This is crushing for Jackson, who is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract. So he’ll be a free agent on July 1. The 22-year-old was also expected to be the backup center this season behind Myles Turner.

At least initially, Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin can spend time at the five spot when Turner is out for a rest. But for 76 more games? Unlikely.

What once was the Pacers’ deepest position, with six centers on the roster, is now their weakest. There’s Turner, two-way rookie Enrique Freeman, and even Jahlil Okafor — who is on a G League contract with the Indiana Mad Ants.

The Pacers have one open roster spot, but just over $2 million to spend. That’s not very much. However, the front office will need to make a move — either via trade or signing a free agent — to bolster the front line.

You can be sure the team’s pro scouts are already canvasing the rest of the league. And here’s a list of possible free agents.

This is a setback, and a concern that the team’s No. 2 and 3 centers both suffered the same injury in the first six games.

Moreover, Andrew Nembhard missed Friday’s game with left knee soreness (specifically, tendonitis), and Aaron Nesmith suffered a left ankle sprain that’s expected to keep him off the court for some time. Nesmith was scheduled to undergo tests, but the results are not yet known.

Orthopedic surgeon on Achilles tendon tears and what Pacers center James Wiseman can expect

Just last week, I spoke with an orthopedic surgeon about Achilles injuries and what the rehab is like. This will be enlightening for you to read.

“We want you weight-bearing as quickly as possible, but we also keep the toe pointed down,” said Dr. Casey Humbyrd, chief of the foot and ankle division of orthopedic surgery at Penn Medicine. “Almost like you're wearing a high heel. So the muscle that goes to the Achilles bridges the knee joint, one of the two muscles. And so you can be loading that muscle just by bending and extending your knee.

“So you try and get it early weight-bearing, but I don't let my physical therapists and trainers start dorsiflexing my athletes — meaning going flat foot for quite a while. Typical protocols are around two months where you're kind of walking with your toe pointed down. So you're loading the tendon, but you're trying to not stretch the tendon.”

The Pacers (2-4) are already in Dallas, head coach Rick Carlisle’s former home, to play the Mavericks on Monday at 9:45 p.m. ET.