Pacers FanJam 2025 takes on businesslike tone, highlighted by returns of Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman
After a deep playoff run and offseason changes, the Pacers kept things simple at their annual fan event — featuring a competitive scrimmage and positive showings from returning big men.
The Indiana Pacers opened their doors to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday morning for FanJam, their annual fan event. It’s an opportunity for the team to hold an intrasquad scrimmage after a week of training camp.
Each year, this fan-friendly event is the first opportunity for fans to get a look at this team. And for many, it’s their only time to The Fieldhouse for a Pacers event.
It was free, but tickets were required — and sold out in about an hour on Thursday morning. Fans received a gold t-shirt, along with a voucher for a free hot dog, bag of chips, and drink.
Before the scrimmage portion on the court, fans could walk around the concourse and take advantage of many offerings — including a face painter, balloon artist, caricaturist, photos with Boomer and the Pacemates, and autographs from alumni.
Leading into Sunday, the team was given Saturday off so that they could attend a private Celebration of Life for Nancy Leonard, who passed away recently.
This year’s edition of FanJam felt a little different.
First, it was a shortened offseason due to their lengthy postseason run, pushing the OKC Thunder to seven games.
Second, the face of the team, Tyrese Haliburton, is out for the season. He plans to be visible throughout the season, with the team at nearly every chance while he recovers from a torn Achilles. That’s important because rehab is isolating and players say they often feel like they aren’t able to contribute. Haliburton will find ways to contribute.
Third, no Myles Turner. For the first time in a decade. Turner was the longest-tenured player but he left in free agency, joining the Milwaukee Bucks, which meant the Rookie Show was very different. That was his pride and joy.
Note: The team is still not credentialing me, but I was able to attend this event since it was open to the public. I’ve attended every one of them for the past two decades so I wasn’t going to stop now.
Doors opened at 9 a.m. and the players took the court for warmups at 10:56 a.m. Head coach Rick Carlisle took the microphone and welcomed fans to a new season of Indiana Pacers basketball.
“Wow, what a great crowd,” he began. “Thanks for coming today. Just want to say we appreciated your guys’ support last year in our run to the finals. And we’re looking forward to another great year this year.
“Appreciate you guys being here very much. Thank you for your support.”
And about one minute later, Carlisle introduced the two teams. The starters were in white and now include Mathurin instead of the injured Haliburton.
Scrimmage
🔵 Blue Team: T.J. McConnell, Johnny Furphy, Jarace Walker, Obi Toppin, Jay Huff, Ben Sheppard, James Wiseman, Taelon Peter, Quenton Jackson, Gabe McGlothan. Coached by Jannero Pargo.
⚪️ White Team: Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Isaiah Jackson, Tony Bradley, Delon Wright, Kam Jones, RayJ Dennis, Jalen Slawson, Tyrese Haliburton (in sweats). Coached by newcomer Johnny Carpenter.
The scrimmage, which consisted of two 10-minute halves, opened with Nembhard missing a 3-pointer, but scoring on a layup after an offensive rebound from Mathurin.
The Blue Team led most of the game and won both halves in a 54-47 victory. That group has great familiarity and chemistry.
There was no penalty for the losing team. In the past, we’ve seen them have to run sprints in front of the crowd.
Toppin led all with 14 points and five rebounds, Siakam scored 12. Toppin and McGlothan were the only two players to make multiple 3-pointers. (Click here for the box score, shared by Tony East.)
You can watch player intros (by Carlisle) and the full scrimmage below:
A Few Takeaways
Good on Carlisle for using G League officials, which is mutually beneficial for these up-and-coming officials that need experience.
Johnny Furphy has quickly become a fan favorite in just over a season. He received a loud ovation — then scored inside and out.
I was most interested to see how Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman looked coming off Achilles tendon surgeries less than one year ago. The biggest question for the team entering the season is what they do at center. Although it was a small sample size in a controlled environment, it was a positive start for both players.
Newcomer Jay Huff, competing for minutes at center, leading all 19 players with five assists, was interesting.
They’re going to continue pressuring full-court and playing fast. Don’t expect that to change.
The bench is going to be a fascinating group. So much potential among young guys like Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy, and Ben Sheppard.
Even in a scrimmage, Pascal Siakam is going to attack. He got fouled more than anyone and made 5 of 6 at the foul line.
The final half needed to be cleaned up. Too many fouls and stoppages, which doesn’t allow for them to play their style and dictate pace.
The players understood the fan-friendly nature of the day. Every time I glanced over at the benches, several players were signing autographs or interacting with kids nearby. Especially Jackson and Toppin. Well done.
The Rookie Show
After the scrimmage, it was time for the memorable Rookie Show — where newcomers have to sing a song they are assigned.
This, too, felt very different.
No Turner meant no costumes for the trio of rookies: draft picks Kam Jones and Taelon Peter, along with physical therapist Justin Tallard — who was hired about a year ago.
Both players knew their songs and leaned into it, but especially Jones. One of the better performances.
A few more thoughts on the event:
It’s not easy with their schedule, but it would be ideal if it was held when downtown was quieter and the Colts are out of town.
That likely contributed to free parking at the Virginia Avenue Garage selling out in a half hour — an hour before the event began. So attendees were pushed to the surface lot to the east.
And there needs to be more basketball.
For the second straight year, it felt like an abbreviated version of FanJam that we’ve seen for more than a decade. It has previously included a skills challenge, 3-point contest, and some more games. But it was a year ago, before FanJam, when Carlisle said they would take it more seriously. That also included wearing game uniforms — but not this time. They were in their practice gear as they used this as a continuation of practice.
“We’re going to create as competitive a situation as we can,” he said then.
Afterward, fans could shoot one free throw on the main court for a $1 donation to the Pacers Foundation. Others, if they were lucky enough, were able to take a group photo with a few members of the team.
And once that was over, several Pacers made it a half-mile west to Lucas Oil Stadium to see the Colts stomp the Las Vegas Raiders. That included Tyrese Haliburton and lead assistant Lloyd Pierce, who is a big Raiders fan.
Fever players Caitlin Clark, Natasha Howard, Makayla Timpson, and Aari McDonald were at the game together and each received a customized Colts jersey.
Photos
I’ve covered every FanJam over the last decade; however, they were unable to host one in 2020 due the pandemic. Here are my stories (with video) from the past nine.
Preseason Schedule
Tuesday, Oct. 7 at Minnesota, 8 ET
Saturday, Oct. 11 v Oklahoma City, 7 ET
Monday, Oct. 13 v San Antonio, 7 ET
Friday, Oct. 17 at San Antonio, 8 ET
*All four games will air locally on FanDuel Sports Network Indiana.
Sounds like it was lots of fun! I was hoping the Fever would do an end of season celebration since we made it so far into the playoff run. I guess the Pacers Fan Jam took up the space for that!
I'm curious to know, what does it take for journalists to get credentialed with organizations and how many people/organizations get a pass to do it? Does it differ with each team?
On another note, are you going to continue to report on the WNBA CBA negotiations drama or are you bowing out to cover the NBA, Scott? I don't blame you if you are moving on to the NBA games. 😂 I have to say, my Momma Bear instincts feel pretty protective of the Fever girlies so I'm monitoring the situation but trying to find someone to cover it respectably is a challenge. Needless to say, I'm NOT getting my WNBA news from ESPN. 😁