The Indiana Pacers’ run in the 2025 NBA playoffs has caught the attention of everyone around the league. Indiana’s ability to win in improbable situations has impressed Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. Amid his praise, he reveals the defining trait that makes the Pacers such a difficult team to defeat.
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The Pacers have formed a reputation for being comeback kings. Since 1996, NBA teams have gone 4-1,702 when behind by seven or more points in the final 50 seconds of regulation or overtime in a playoff game. The Pacers have three of the four victories in this postseason alone.
No matter how big the deficit or what the situation is, it has become impossible to count out the Pacers. Their ability to achieve the impossible isn’t due to a specific on-court skill that all their players have. The characteristic is something any player can develop.
In a recent episode of Mind the Game, LeBron believes the reason is simple. It comes down to Indiana’s heart.
“They just don’t stop playing,” James said. “They don’t waver, doesn’t matter whether win, lose, or draw, they don’t waver.”
Indiana believes it can win every game they faced. They’ve shown that trait in their remarkable Game 5 comeback against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. They followed that performance with an amazing comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the second round. Then topped it off with their iconic Game 1 victory over the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
On top of that, who can forget Game 1 of the NBA Finals, where the Pacers led in the game for just 0.3 seconds as Tyrese Haliburton made an incredible go-ahead shot to secure them the win.
Steve Nash agrees with James’ comments toward the Pacers. However, he also contributed a player’s point of view regarding the leading team, which Indiana has been able to take advantage of.
“As players, we don’t want to admit this, but you play to win or you play not to lose,” Nash said. “At times, when you have a 14-point lead with three or four minutes left, you’re looking at the clock like, ‘How do we manage the clock? Because it would be stupid not to.'”
Sometimes teams can lose track of the right blend of aggression and composure, which Indiana has used to strike. Despite taking Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a similar fashion, the Pacers have since struggled to emulate this formula.
As they prepare for Game 6, they potentially face elimination. Indiana will have the opportunity to keep their championship hopes alive on Thursday, June 19 at 8:30 PM ET on ESPN.
