Jalen Slawson is making a strong early impression with the Pacers after signing a two-way contract late last month, as Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star reports.
The former second-round pick stood out in Wednesday’s game, posting 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in 37 minutes while helping ignite a late comeback effort.
“His energy and effort is really, really amazing,” center Ivica Zubac said. “That’s one of the starting things you have to have when you’re getting your chance just to get on the floor. You have to show energy, make effort plays.
“He’s blocking shots. He’s rebounding. He’s making the right reads, cutting to the right spots, taking open shots, taking good shots. He doesn’t really force it. He’s been great, defending his tail off. He’s been doing everything we want him to do and playing with a lot of energy and force. We all gotta play like that.”
Head coach Rick Carlisle echoed that praise, pointing to Slawson’s defensive presence and growing confidence on offense.
“He’s making better reads the more he plays,” Carlisle said. “You can see he has good feel. He can drive it. He’s got ball skills. He can throw late lobs and see things. Guys that can do a lot of different things like that sometimes are challenged with decisiveness, but he’s becoming more decisive the more he plays. … We all like what we see.”
Pacers Notes: Slawson, Zubac, Haliburton, Bell https://t.co/7ZTJzkhCxF pic.twitter.com/UP06TEJl9T
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 19, 2026
