Indiana Pacers 2026-27 roster: Tyrese Haliburton’s comeback, the Ivica Zubac gamble and a retooled frontcourt

The Indiana Pacers spent the 2025-2026 season picking up the pieces after Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles injury, and they now head into 2026-2027 with a fully reshaped frontcourt anchored by Ivica Zubac. Between a franchise-altering trade, a lottery letdown and a summer of value additions, Indiana’s roster has changed dramatically since it walked off the floor in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

A season derailed: Haliburton’s Achilles tear and the freefall

Everything traces back to one moment. Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, an injury that ruled him out for the entire 2025-2026 season, according to Yahoo Sports. The outlet described the tear as having “triggered a shift in Indiana from a title contender to one of the worst teams in basketball,” a characterization corroborated by HoopsRumors in its 2026 offseason preview of the franchise.

The on-court fallout was brutal. Without Haliburton, the Pacers finished with the second-worst record in the NBA in 2025-2026, per Yahoo Sports. That collapse left Indiana with just a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick and a 52% chance of finishing in the top four of the draft lottery — numbers that would matter enormously months later.

The roster bleeding didn’t stop there. Myles Turner left in free agency for the rival Milwaukee Bucks. Yahoo Sports reported that the Pacers acquired Zubac in part to replace Turner, setting the stage for the trade that followed. Losing both a franchise point guard for the year and a starting center within months of each other turned a championship-contending roster into one searching for direction, and it explains why the Pacers were aggressive in reshaping the frontcourt as soon as an opportunity presented itself.

The Zubac trade and its lottery fallout

That opportunity came on February 5, 2026, when the Los Angeles Clippers sent center Ivica Zubac and forward Kobe Brown to Indiana, according to ESPN. In return, the Pacers gave up Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, a 2029 pick, a future second-round pick, and — critically — their own 2026 first-round pick, which was protected only through the top four, as confirmed by Yahoo Sports.

The bet was simple: replace Turner’s production at center with an established starter in Zubac while the team weathered Haliburton’s absence. But the math backfired at the draft lottery on May 10, 2026. Because Indiana’s pick was unprotected outside the top four, and the team fell to No. 5, that selection went straight to the Clippers rather than staying in Indiana.

The result prompted a rare public apology from team president Kevin Pritchard. “I’m really sorry to all our fans. I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember — this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient,” Pritchard said in a public apology on May 10, 2026, as reported by Yahoo Sports. The statement framed the trade not as a mistake in isolation, but as a calculated risk that the front office is still prepared to defend as it retools around Zubac for 2026-2027.

The full 2026-2027 roster

According to BeBasket’s roster database, Indiana’s active roster for the 2026-2027 season currently includes 17 players:

• Tyrese Haliburton — Point Guard
• T.J. McConnell — Point Guard
• Andrew Nembhard — Point Guard
• Quenton Jackson — Point Guard
• Johnny Furphy — Shooting Guard
• Ben Sheppard — Shooting Guard
• Ethan Thompson — Shooting Guard
• Aaron Nesmith — Small Forward
• Kelly Oubre Jr. — Small Forward
• Jalen Slawson — Small Forward
• Kobe Brown — Power Forward
• Pascal Siakam — Power Forward
• Obi Toppin — Power Forward
• Jarace Walker — Power Forward
• Jay Huff — Center
• Larry Nance Jr. — Center
• Ivica Zubac — Center

The group blends returning players Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith, Siakam and McConnell — the same point guard duo Indiana fielded in the NBA Finals — with the new frontcourt pieces acquired via trade and free agency in Zubac, Oubre Jr. and Nance Jr. It’s a roster built to be deeper up front than the one that lost Turner.

Projected starting five

Indiana’s projected starting five for 2026-2027, per ESPN’s depth chart and a converging set of independent analyses: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac.

The headline is Haliburton’s return itself. Behind him, T.J. McConnell remains the backup point guard, reuniting the same point guard duo the Pacers fielded in the NBA Finals, according to Yahoo Sports.

Haliburton himself has expressed confidence in his recovery. “If the season was today, I’d be ready,” he told IndyStar. Nembhard, Nesmith and Siakam round out a lineup that stayed largely intact through the roster turnover, while Zubac slots in as the new starting center — the direct return, for better or worse, on Indiana’s February trade with the Clippers.

Bench and depth: Oubre Jr. and Nance Jr. arrive

Indiana used the offseason to add proven veterans rather than chase marquee names. Kelly Oubre Jr. signed a two-year, $16.5 million contract in early July 2026, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, according to The Athletic. Hoops Rumors corroborated the terms of the deal. Oubre adds wing depth behind Nesmith.

The Pacers also addressed frontcourt depth directly. Larry Nance Jr. signed a one-year veteran-minimum contract on July 8, 2026, worth roughly $4 million in total value, per IndyStar and Forbes. Nance arrives after averaging 3.7 points per game last season with Cleveland, giving Indiana a low-cost, experienced body to rotate behind Zubac and alongside Jay Huff.

One name to watch on the depth chart is Jarace Walker, who enters the fourth and final year of his rookie contract in 2026-2027. Indiana exercised his $8,478,542 option in October 2025, according to NBA.com, and Walker will become a restricted free agent once the season ends, per SalarySwish. That timeline places extra weight on how many frontcourt minutes Walker can earn in a crowded frontcourt this season, with his next contract likely shaped by how he performs.

Salary situation and the luxury tax

Indiana’s spending this offseason was shaped directly by where it sits relative to the NBA’s financial thresholds. The league set the 2026-2027 luxury tax line at $200.428 million, the salary cap at $164.961 million, the first apron at $209.015 million and the second apron at $221.686 million, according to NBA.com.

An analysis published by Third Apron in May 2026 found the Pacers’ payroll sitting just $279,000 above the $200.428 million tax line and roughly $7.8 million below the $209.015 million first apron. That tight margin explains why Indiana turned to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception for Oubre Jr. and the veteran minimum for Nance Jr. rather than pursuing bigger free-agent spending. With so little room before triggering harsher apron restrictions, the front office prioritized value additions over marquee names.

Win projections and outlook for 2026-2027

Oddsmakers are split on how quickly Indiana can bounce back. Yahoo Sports, in a July 29, 2026 preview, pegged the Pacers’ win total line at “under 43.5.” Weeks later, on August 20, 2026, BetMGM projected the opposite, predicting Indiana would finish “over 44.5 wins.”

The disagreement reflects the uncertainty baked into a roster banking on a healthy Haliburton, a new starting center in Zubac, and new depth pieces in Oubre Jr. and Nance Jr. all clicking at once. On the championship futures board, ESPN listed the Pacers at +4000 to win the 2026-2027 title — long odds, but not dismissive ones for a team that reached Game 7 of the Finals just two seasons prior. How quickly Zubac, Haliburton and the retooled frontcourt gel will determine which of those two win-total projections ends up closer to the truth.