Is Siakam a top 20 player?

[Duffman100]

16 guys are definitely above him:
Jokic
SGA
Giannis
Luka
Tatum
Wemby
Ant
Curry
Mitchell
Brunson
Haliburton
Cade
Mobley
Kawhi
Davis
Durant

I've got 13 who are arguably above him, and there may be a few more:
Booker
Banchero
Wagner
Sabonis
Chet
Butler
Jalen Williams
Harden
KAT
Bam
Jaylen Brown
Lebron
Jalen Johnson

So to be in the top 20, you would have to rank him ahead of almost everyone in that second group.

I think everyone is just so jammed packed that it's hard to have a steady list there. As someone said, game to game, week to week it's fluid.

[Jakay]

He's solidly in my top 20, just like 34 other players.

So well put. Beyond a point of the obvious "best" its so subjective based on what you value. Him being 3rd team All NBA a few times puts him right around 20-25 territory imo.

Not many, if any, better second bananas you can plug and play on just about any team like Spicy P.

[Prophet_tt]

He's in that range from 17-25.

That's actually fair and the same slot I would give him. On any given night he can be #15 but that's the highest he can go from where I'm looking at things.

[Wingy]

ANT
Luka
Bron
AD
Kawhi
Shai
Haliburton
KAT
Brunson
Giannis
Mitchell
Banchero
Butler
Franz
Jokic
Tatum
Brown
Curry
Cade
Wemby
Garland
Mobley

That's 22 right off the top of my head that I would take and I'm probably forgetting someone obvious. I wouldn't take him top 20 myself no.

I think in a single game situation it is debatable on Paolo, Franz, Garland, Mobley, Brown.

…and the aging Butler, and KAT…did we not just watch him outplay KAT? Not being one of your team’s weak links on defense matters. Then how often are we actually getting Kawhi on the floor?

Not to go at Optms’s list as it’s a good start for discussion, and there are probably guys we forgot.

One might make a case for Bam. Perhaps there are still Embiid fans out there, but I just don’t see it.

Jalen Williams might make a case here soon, but we’ll see. I still give Spicy the nod.

Not a lock, but think he’s in the conversation for top 20.

[Wargreymon]

He might elevate to top 10 if he leads the Pacers to a title and gets finals mvp

[Scalabrine]

The question is if he is a top 20 fantasy player, its definitely a yes. He fills up the stat sheet well at above average efficiency.

Depends on the scoring format but in a standard 9 cat re-draft he was the 75 ranked player this past year based on averages and 42nd based on totals.

He's not elite at anything and he drags FT% and is below average at stocks, 3's and assists. He's solid all around and isn't gonna kill you anywhere, but his rank is 75 for a reason.

I have no idea about points leagues but I imagine he's a little better.

[Wingy]

Shout out to Spicy.

Clutch winning plays late. Key block to keep them down only 3, then immediately puts himself in the right place to retrieve an airball and get the put back.

There are no Haliburton heroics without Siakam’s winning plays. Big 3s from Nesmith and Nembhard too. Indy’s a complete team, and it’s the acquisition of Siakam that has put them on this level.

[7seventynine9]

Maybe? How you rank players after the top 7 or 8 is pretty much all opinion anyway. Siakam is in that Jaylen Brown group, and that group is large.

[Yoshun]

He's played like one in the playoffs this season.

[Hoop Hunter]

The Ringer has Paskal ranked #23. Seems pretty fair to me. Could be top 20 on many people's lists.
https://nbarankings.theringer.com/

In The Ringers latest NBA Top 100 for the first time in team history the Pacers entire starting 5 is ranked. A couple could probably be higher.

Tyrese Haliburton: 7th
Pascal Siakam: 23rd
Andrew Nembhard: 74th
Myles Turner: 76th
Aaron Nesmith: 91st

[ropjhk]

I think in a single game situation it is debatable on Paolo, Franz, Garland, Mobley, Brown.

you are so delusional

Strike: Trolling

I got a strike for saying Siakam is not better than Paolo, Franz, Garland, Mobley, Brown?

We can all see you got a strike for calling another poster delusional for no good reason.

[benhillboy]

I'd compare him to Jimmy Butler in terms of perception. Similarly to prime Jimmy he elevated his game in the playoffs, but he hasn't shown enough regular season consistency to warrant calling him a top 20 guy.

Jimmy has a 123 offensive rating to 108 defensive rating in the regular season for his career.

Lebron is 116 to 105.

Nothing personal. I simply don’t allow any Jimmy slander unless it’s from me

To answers OPs question yeah he feels like #20 as it stands today. I was always extremely impressed with his feel up through their championship run in Toronto, not so much as a primary option. His role is perfect in Indiana so that uncanny nuance he has is back in full effect. People sleep on his defensive positioning and floor running. Shooting slick improved significantly too. Super low maintenance, fine player that Pascal.

[Accurim]

majority of top15~ guys are proven and successful (perennial playoffs) number1 options, or they're a big with DPOY/DPOY potential.

if you compare him only to number 2 options, id say hes one of the best.

[shi-woo]

It's close with him, as he's a consistent AS, an All-NBAer, and has now proven to be an elite 2nd option.

I think he's on similar footing as Jaylen Brown, though I prefer Brown more because he can function as a passable #1, and outside of this year, has been a very good shooter.

The people saying guys like Franz and Garland are smoking that good stuff, and falling victim to over rating young talent as always.

It's also hard considering there are so many players injured. Do we include Tatum in this even though he's out for the year? How about Joel and Kawhii, 2 dudes constantly racking up DNPs?

Top 8 is pretty set in stone for me:

Joker
Giannis
Luka
SGA
Tatum
Curry
Ant
Mitchell

Next 5-6 guys are all there based on ability, but aren't reliable enough at this point:

LBJ
Kawhii
Joel
KD
Ja
Zion

After that you have guys that you can build a team around, even if they arn't there yet:

Wemby
Cade
Hali
Brunson
Banchero

Pascal is in the next group of dudes with:

Jimmy
Brown
Mobley
Harden
Booker
Towns

Dudes who are elite #2's, can carry you during stretches of games, but ultimately need to be playing off of another player to maximize their talent. I'm sure i'm missing some dudes like Trae, JJJ, Sabonis, ect but they would most likely go in the 4th group.

Given how you see the 2nd group of dudes, or just injured/oft injured guys, he could easily be a Top 20 dude. I also wouldn't fault anyone for putting him above dudes like Paolo because of age, or Brunson because of def. Those dudes just carry their team, which I value a lot. I personally have him slightly below Brown and Jimmy, but ahead of guys like Harden. He's a legit #2 option given his improved ball skills and scoring, as well as his consistent defense. Where ever you rank Mobley, I would put him either 1 spot ahead or one spot behind him depending on what you value.

[wolves_89]

If the question was about being a top 30 player the answer would be yes, but Siakam falls outside the top 20.

[pingpongrac]

Like many others, I have a top 8-ish ranking that is pretty set in stone (Jokic, Giannis, Luka, SGA, Tatum, Steph, Edwards, KD) then it starts to get very murky and can change depending on what you're talking about. If you're including potential, guys like Wemby/Cade/Paolo would clearly be above a bunch of more experienced guys in that 2nd or 3rd tier like Siakam/Brown/Butler while some chronically-injured or unavailable stars (Embiid, Kawhi, Zion, AD, Ja, etc.) would likely be above them too. It's not an outlandish take to say Siakam is a top 20 player though considering his availability has been very good, he produces at a high level/doesn't drop off in the playoffs and he has the accolades to boot.

Siakam was underrated and overlooked while he was playing in Toronto, so it's nice to see him finally getting his flowers in Indiana the past 12 or so months. He played a massive role in us winning our lone Championship in 2019 and had numerous big games while hitting big shots during that run then his usage increased with Kawhi's departure and he produced at a pretty high level; he averaged 23/8/5 on 56 TS% while being a solid defender over the next four years, but so many people just rememeber(ed) his brutal offensive showing in the 2020 bubble playoffs. That seven-game series that came down to the final seconds against the Celtics seemed to have really tarnished his image for a long time.

[Beethoven]

There's like 50 players better than him I can think of and I'm what they call a "casual" fan.

[cupcakesnake]

I ranked Siakam as my 25th best player of the regular season. He's been borderline top 5 in the playoffs.

Everyone can make their own top 20, but Siakam is certainly in the pool of players that require consideration. I could take the players I've ranked 16-30 and put them in almost any order. Straight rankings are always going to be a little silly because even when you think a group of 10 players is the same, you have to rank them and it creates the appearance that the 10th guy is way better than the 20th guy or whatever.

[Backcountry]

He is in the top 20 of #2 players for sure.

[Beethoven]

I ranked Siakam as my 25th best player of the regular season. He's been borderline top 5 in the playoffs.

Everyone can make their own top 20, but Siakam is certainly in the pool of players that require consideration. I could take the players I've ranked 16-30 and put them in almost any order. Straight rankings are always going to be a little silly because even when you think a group of 10 players is the same, you have to rank them and it creates the appearance that the 10th guy is way better than the 20th guy or whatever.

Good point.