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The 2020–21 Indiana Pacers season was Indiana's 54th season as a franchise and 45th season in the NBA. The Pacers replaced Nate McMillan,[1] with former Toronto Raptors assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren.[2] During the season, the team acquired Caris LeVert in exchange for Victor Oladipo.
| 2020–21 Indiana Pacers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Nate Bjorkgren |
| General manager | Chad Buchanan |
| President | Kevin Pritchard |
| Owners | Herbert Simon |
| Arena | Bankers Life Fieldhouse |
| Results | |
| Record | 34–38 (.472) |
| Place | Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 9th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Bally Sports Indiana[A] |
| Radio | 1070 The Fan |
The Pacers missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015 following a loss to the Washington Wizards in the play-in tournament, ending a six-year playoff streak. Due to this, with multiple other factors, Bjorkgren was fired.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 54 | Cassius Stanley | SG |  United States |
Duke |
Entering the 2020 NBA draft, the Pacers only held one second-round pick. Their own first-round selection was traded as an incentive to acquire Malcolm Brogdon from the Milwaukee Bucks via sign and trade.[3]
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Roster |
Division
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Conference
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Notes
- z – Clinched home-court advantage for the entire playoffs
- c – Clinched home-court advantage for the conference playoffs
- y – Clinched division title
- x – Clinched playoff spot
- * – Division leader
Preseason
| 2020 preseason game log Total: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preseason: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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| 2020–21 season schedule | |||||||||
Regular season
Play-in
| 2021 play-in game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Play-in: 1–1 (home: 1–0; road: 0–1)
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Ragular season
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Holiday | SG | 72 | 52 | 2,183 | 256 | 119 | 74 | 41 | 756 | 30.3 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 1.0 | .6 | 10.5 |
| T. J. McConnell | PG | 69 | 3 | 1,796 | 256 | 456 | 128 | 23 | 596 | 26.0 | 3.7 | 6.6 | 1.9 | .3 | 8.6 |
| Doug McDermott | PF | 66 | 29 | 1,619 | 221 | 85 | 20 | 6 | 899 | 24.5 | 3.3 | 1.3 | .3 | .1 | 13.6 |
| Aaron Holiday | PG | 66 | 8 | 1,176 | 89 | 123 | 46 | 13 | 475 | 17.8 | 1.3 | 1.9 | .7 | .2 | 7.2 |
| Domantas Sabonis | PF | 62 | 62 | 2,231 | 742 | 415 | 76 | 33 | 1,260 | 36.0 | 12.0 | 6.7 | 1.2 | .5 | 20.3 |
| Malcolm Brogdon | PG | 56 | 56 | 1,930 | 294 | 329 | 49 | 15 | 1,186 | 34.5 | 5.3 | 5.9 | .9 | .3 | 21.2 |
| Edmond Sumner | SG | 53 | 24 | 861 | 94 | 49 | 33 | 10 | 399 | 16.2 | 1.8 | .9 | .6 | .2 | 7.5 |
| Myles Turner | C | 47 | 47 | 1,455 | 306 | 48 | 40 | 159 | 592 | 31.0 | 6.5 | 1.0 | .9 | 3.4 | 12.6 |
| Goga Bitadze | C | 45 | 3 | 561 | 150 | 37 | 9 | 60 | 231 | 12.5 | 3.3 | .8 | .2 | 1.3 | 5.1 |
| Jeremy Lamb | SG | 36 | 8 | 765 | 131 | 53 | 34 | 23 | 363 | 21.3 | 3.6 | 1.5 | .9 | .6 | 10.1 |
| Caris LeVert† | SG | 35 | 35 | 1,152 | 162 | 173 | 53 | 24 | 726 | 32.9 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 1.5 | .7 | 20.7 |
| Kelan Martin | SF | 35 | 0 | 322 | 78 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 157 | 9.2 | 2.2 | .5 | .3 | .3 | 4.5 |
| JaKarr Sampson | PF | 29 | 4 | 316 | 77 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 134 | 10.9 | 2.7 | .1 | .1 | .5 | 4.6 |
| Cassius Stanley | SG | 24 | 0 | 93 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 3.9 | .8 | .0 | .0 | .1 | 1.5 |
| Oshae Brissett | SF | 21 | 16 | 519 | 115 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 229 | 24.7 | 5.5 | .9 | .9 | 1.0 | 10.9 |
| Victor Oladipo† | SG | 9 | 9 | 300 | 51 | 38 | 15 | 2 | 180 | 33.3 | 5.7 | 4.2 | 1.7 | .2 | 20.0 |
| Brian Bowen | SF | 6 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2.5 | .5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .5 |
| Amida Brimah | C | 5 | 0 | 29 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 5.8 | 1.6 | .2 | .0 | 1.0 | 2.6 |
| T. J. Warren | SF | 4 | 4 | 117 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 29.3 | 3.5 | 1.3 | .5 | .0 | 15.5 |
| Jalen Lecque | PG | 4 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3.0 | 1.3 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 1.3 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Pacers only.
Trades
| November 25, 2020[4] | To Indiana Pacers Jalen Lecque |
To Oklahoma City Thunder T. J. Leaf 2027 second-round pick |
| January 13, 2021[5] (Four-team trade) |
To Indiana Pacers Caris LeVert (from Brooklyn) 2023 second-round pick (from Houston) (Jalen Pickett) 2024 second-round pick (from Cleveland) (Tristen Newton) |
To Brooklyn Nets James Harden (from Houston) |
| To Houston Rockets Victor Oladipo (from Indiana) Dante Exum (from Cleveland) Rodions Kurucs (from Brooklyn) 2022 first-round pick (from Brooklyn via Milwaukee) (MarJon Beauchamp) 2022 first-round pick (from Brooklyn) (Tari Eason) 2024 first-round pick (from Brooklyn) (Reed Sheppard) 2026 first-round pick (from Brooklyn) |
To Cleveland Cavaliers Jarrett Allen (from Brooklyn) Taurean Prince (from Brooklyn) Draft rights to Sasha Vezenkov (from Brooklyn) (2017, Pick 57) |
Free Agents
Additions
| Player | Date Signed | Contract | Former Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rayshaun Hammonds | November 19, 2020[note 1] | Exhibit 10 contract | Georgia | [6] |
| Amida Brimah | November 29, 2020[note 2] | Exhibit 10 contract | Austin Spurs | [7] |
| Kelan Martin | November 29, 2020 | 2 year, $3.1 million contract | Minnesota Timberwolves | [7] |
| Devin Robinson | December 18, 2020 | Exhibit 10 contract | Raptors 905 | [8] |
| Josh Gray | December 18, 2020 | Exhibit 10 contract | Oklahoma City Thunder[note 3] | [8] |
| Oshae Brissett | April 1, 2021[note 4] | 10-day contract | Fort Wayne Mad Ants | [9] |
- Hammonds signed a second Exhibit 10 contract on November 29.
- Brimah was officially waived by the team on December 18. However, he re-signed with the Pacers to a two-way contract on April 23.
- Gray played with the New Orleans Pelicans through the 2019–20 season, and was officially traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 24, 2020, but waived later in December 1.
- Brissett signed a second 10-day contract on April 11, and eventually signed a 2 year, $2.4 million contract with the Pacers on April 21.
Subtractions
| Player | Reason Left | Date Left | New Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rayshaun Hammonds | Waived | December 18, 2020 | Fort Wayne Mad Ants | [8] |
| Devin Robinson | Waived | December 19, 2020 | Fort Wayne Mad Ants | [10] |
| Josh Gray | Waived | December 19, 2020 | Fort Wayne Mad Ants | [10] |
| Naz Mitrou-Long | Waived | December 19, 2020 | Fort Wayne Mad Ants | [10] |
| Jalen Lecque | Waived | March 25, 2021 | Wisconsin Herd | [11] |
| Brian Bowen | Waived | April 23, 2021 | Minnesota Timberwolves | [12] |
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