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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JUNE 19: Jarace Walker of Pacers warms up before the NBA Finals game 6 between Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n
INDIANAPOLIS \u2013 As the Indiana Pacers were celebrating their Game 6 win over the New York Knicks and a trip to the NBA Finals last season, one player stood out emotionally. While he was rejoicing and smiling just like the rest of his teammates, Jarace Walker kept glancing at the ground and had to move at a different pace than his teammates. He was on crutches<\/a>, having just suffered an ankle sprain during the game.<\/p>\n It turned out to be a severe injury, it kept Walker out until late August. That, of course, meant that Walker missed the NBA Finals and didn\u2019t get to play on the biggest stage there is in basketball. He had to sit, watch, and heal while his teammates battled the Oklahoma City Thunder.<\/p>\n \u201cUndescribable. It\u2019s tough. I mean, you work all summer, 82 games, three series, and then you get there and then it\u2019s taken away,\u201d Walker said of his emotions sitting out the Finals. \u201cBut it grows you, it matures you. I feel like it made me a better person. I learned a lot through that process.\u201d<\/p>\n Many things in Walker\u2019s career have forced him to mature in a similar manner. He was a top-10 pick for Indiana in 2023, and typically someone drafted that high would enter the league with at least some minutes coming their way. But the Pacers were already really good, a rarity for a team picking in the single digits \u2013 they made the Eastern Conference Finals in Walker\u2019s first season. And they added Obi Toppin as well as Pascal Siakam within seven months of the 2023 draft, so the power forward position became crowded.<\/p>\n Walker didn\u2019t play much. He had to watch and learn, then spent two seasons going through sporadic G League assignments<\/a>. He welcomed them for a chance to play, though he did appear in 75 games during the most recent NBA season and averaged 15.8 minutes per game. Still, his first two seasons, from unique playing situations to Finals injury etc, have forced Walker to grow up fast, and sitting out to close last season reshaped his feelings on basketball again.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, yeah, definitely the appreciation factor. I\u2019m not saying I wasn\u2019t appreciative, but just every opportunity I\u2019m able to work out, get a lift in, practice, it means a lot more to me now than it did before just knowing that in an instant it can be taken away,\u201d Walker said of how missing games on the biggest stage changed things for him. He has a more optimistic view on training camp now and his opportunities to improve. \u201cSo, I mean, every day is a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n What will be different for Jarace Walker in season three with the Pacers?<\/p>\n He enters year three confident and ready. Walker\u2019s self assurance and personality have shined in his conversations with teammates and media members this week, and he\u2019s been a common answer from other Pacers players when they\u2019re asked who is standing out in training camp. The 22-year old forward has real experience now, and it shows.<\/p>\n