Pacers debut new NBA Cup court on Halloween vs. Hawks; Siakam hosted team for pre-season Halloween bash
Indiana opens NBA Cup play on a blue “Boom Baby!” court while Pascal Siakam brought the team together for a Halloween party before the 2025-26 season tipped off.
We’re just one week into the regular season — and the NBA Cup is already here?
That’s right. A bit aggressive on the NBA calendar, for sure.
It’s the third annual NBA Cup, with teams competing for a trophy and a share of more than $500,000. The Pacers reached the Cup Finals in Las Vegas during the inaugural year, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Pacers will debut their new Cup-specific home court tonight (as you see below) with “INDIANA” stretching across center court. It’s Halloween at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as they host the Atlanta Hawks. With the blue court design, the team will wear their yellow Statement Edition uniforms for the first time this season.
A key detail: “Boom Baby!” — the iconic phrase of the late Slick Leonard — is featured both along the baseline and in large letters across midcourt.
Also of note: The Pacers are scheduled to wear their new City Edition uniforms, which have not yet been unveiled, for the first time on the road in Salt Lake City on Nov. 11. They’ll wear them for three consecutive games, so expect an announcement early next month.
If it’s been a while, here’s a quick NBA Cup refresher.
Teams are divided into groups — three per conference and five teams per group.
The Pacers are in East Group A with the Cavaliers, Hawks, Raptors, and Wizards.
The toughest group appears to be West Group C: Rockets, Nuggets, Warriors, Trail Blazers, and Spurs.
Group Play — 60 games total, four per team — begins Oct. 31 and runs through Friday, Nov. 28.
Eight teams advance to the second stage, the single-elimination Knockout Rounds (Dec. 9–10). Amazon’s Prime Video, a new NBA broadcast partner, will stream the Knockout Rounds, semifinals, and championship.
The 22 teams that don’t advance will each have two additional games added to their schedule — which is why only 80 of 82 games are currently known.
From there, four teams move on to the semifinals (Saturday, Dec. 13) before the championship game on Tuesday, Dec. 16 in Las Vegas.
Trae Young is unavailable for Friday’s game due to injury. The Pacers have already ruled out seven players while rookie Taelon Peter (right groin strain) is questionable to play.
The Pacers (0-4) are seeking their first win of the season and enter as 2.5-point underdogs.
They’ve lost their last two meetings with the Hawks, both in Atlanta, and all three meetings last season reached 238+ points.
A Pacers Halloween
If you follow Pascal Siakam on social media, it’s clear Halloween is one of his favorite holidays. As a team leader, he took it a step further this year — teaming up with one of his sponsors, Red Bull, to host a Halloween party.
Siakam brought together teammates, coaches, and staff members for a night of spooky fun at Industry in downtown Indianapolis. Team camaraderie was a bonus.
Because the Pacers play on Halloween — and three of the next four nights — the event was held the weekend before they tipped off the 2025-26 season.
Siakam dressed as a plague doctor, and the theme of the night was “Pascal’s Pit Stop of Terror.”
The costume contest winner was Karen Atkeson, the team’s vice president of player relations.
Tyrese Haliburton was very proud of his Fantastic 4 costume.
See more photos from the Halloween party below, provided to Fieldhouse Files by Red Bull.
What stands out most is how the entire team showed up together. That’s critical, especially after the long, demanding season they had last year. This group is clearly bought in — and it’s in these off-court moments where relationships, chemistry, and trust are built even stronger.
A team that enjoys being together plays harder for each other.
To top it off, Siakam showed off his skills in front of the camera in a new video posted to his social media on Halloween. It featured Furphy as well.
