Pascal Siakam

Early life

Siakam was born in Douala, Cameroon, to Tchamo and Victorie Siakam. He was the youngest of four brothers. His father, Tchamo, worked for a local transit company and was also the mayor of Makénéné. According to a story by Jackie MacMullan of ESPN, Pascal was effectively "hand-picked to embody his family's Catholicism." His father thus enrolled him in St. Andrew's Seminary in Bafia at age 11. By the time he was 15, he did not want to become a Catholic priest.

Siakam initially had little interest in basketball in stark contrast to his older brothers, all of whom earned scholarships with the sport to various NCAA Division I colleges. He was discovered as a player at a local camp by Luc Mbah a Moute, whose parents' home in Bafia was about two miles (3.2 km) from St. Andrew's. Siakam attended Mbah a Moute's camp for the first time in 2011, a year before graduating from St. Andrew's, and he returned to it the following year, after which he was selected to attend the Basketball Without Borders camp. There, despite having had virtually no basketball experience at the time, he gained attention for his apparent athleticism and extremely high energy level. As Raptors president Masai Ujiri, who had been at this camp, recalled, "His effort was memorable." With Mbah a Moute as a mentor, Siakam moved to the United States at the age of 18. He went from one camp to the next to hone his skills before settling in Lewisville, Texas, and attending God's Academy. While at this preparatory school, Siakam was neither widely known nor initially eligible, but he was at least pursued by New Mexico State University; the Aggies' coach Marvin Menzies had Siakam on his radar since his pipeline of connections spanned several continents and his roster included nine foreign-born players.

College career

Siakam enrolled at New Mexico State University in 2013. After redshirting the 2013–14 season due to injury, he worked his way onto the Aggies' starting lineup and then to Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Freshman of the Year honors by the 2014–15 campaign. For the 2015–16 campaign, he averaged 20.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks across 34 games en route to earning unanimous WAC Player of the Year honors. On 19 April 2016, Siakam declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.

Professional career

Toronto Raptors (2016–2024)

On 23 June 2016, Siakam was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the 27th overall pick in the NBA draft, with the franchise signing him to a rookie-scale contract on 9 July. On 26 October, he became the first rookie to start for the Raptors' season-opener since Jonas Valančiūnas did so in 2012; rising to the occasion, he hauled in 9 rebounds and notched 4 points in 21 minutes as Toronto beat the Detroit Pistons, 109–91. It marked not only his NBA debut, but also the first NBA game that he had ever seen in person. On 3 December, Siakam scored a season-high 14 points, which came in a 128–84 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. On 1 January 2017, during a 123–114 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, he pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds.

In his rookie season, Siakam started in as many as 38 games at power forward, including the first 35 of the 2016–17 campaign, because Jared Sullinger was out with injury. From 21 February through 28 April, he was alternately assigned to the Raptors 905 of the G League and recalled from it. Accordingly, between games played for the Raptors, he led Toronto's affiliate team to the finals and helped them win a title by defeating the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 2–1 in the series. After averaging 23 points and 9 rebounds in that series, he was named the G League Finals MVP.

In his second year in the NBA, Siakam cemented himself as a productive bench contributor for Toronto. He recorded a then-career-high 20 points during a 117–112 loss to the Golden State Warriors on 25 October 2017. For the 2017–18 season, the Raptors' offensive rating was four points better with Siakam on the floor, compared to seven points worse his rookie year. His averages improved from 4.3 points per game to 7.3, from 3.4 rebounds per game to 4.5, and from 0.3 assists per game to 2.0. He drew comparisons to Warriors' forward Draymond Green for such qualities as his rare ability to guard all positions, his shrewd basketball knowledge, and internal confidence.

Heading into the 2018–19 campaign, Siakam emerged as a two-way force, and he averaged 16.9 points a night to go along with 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists; he also made a marked improvement in shooting from distance, increasing his three-point percentage by 36%. He surpassed his previous career high on 29 October 2018, posting 22 points during a 124–109 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. On 10 November, he set a new career high with 23 points scored in a 128–112 victory over the New York Knicks. Siakam was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played 5 to 11 November, thus becoming the eighth Raptor in franchise history to earn the award after DeMar DeRozan (10 times), Vince Carter (7 times), Chris Bosh (7 times), Kyle Lowry (4 times), Mike James, Jalen Rose and Lou Williams. On 13 January, Siakam recorded 24 points and a career-high 19 rebounds in a 140–138 double-overtime win versus the Washington Wizards. On 13 February, he racked up a new career-high 44 points and hit a career-best 4 three-pointers in a 129–120 win over the Wizards; he thus became the 11th Raptor in franchise history to reach the 40-point plateau.

Indiana Pacers (2024–present)

On 17 January 2024, Siakam was traded to the Indiana Pacers in a three-team trade in exchange for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, Kira Lewis Jr. and three first-round draft picks. Two days later, on 19 January, Siakam made his Pacers debut, putting up 21 points, six rebounds and three assists in a 118–115 loss against the Portland Trail Blazers. On 25 January, Siakam recorded his 6th career triple-double with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 134–122 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The next day, Siakam recorded 31 points, seven rebounds and two steals in a 133–131 win over the Phoenix Suns.

In game 1 of the Pacers' first-round playoffs series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Siakam posted a then playoff career-high 36 points and tied his playoff career high with 13 rebounds in a 109–94 loss. In game 2, Siakam scored a playoff career-high 37 points, along with 11 rebounds, 6 assists and zero turnovers in a 125–108 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pacers defeated the Knicks in 7 games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, the franchise's first since 2014. The Pacers eventually lost the series to the eventual NBA champion Celtics in four games.

On 8 July 2024, Siakam re-signed with the Pacers to a four-year, $189.5 million contract. On 30 October, Siakam scored 29 points and hit a game winner in a 135–132 overtime victory against the Boston Celtics in a playoff rematch. On January 29, 2025, Siakam scored a season-high 37 points on 15-of-21 shooting from the field in a 133–119 win over the Detroit Pistons. On 30 January, Siakam was named as reserve for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, his third selection.

In game 2 of the Pacers' first-round playoffs series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Siakam recorded 24 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 123–115 win. On May 13, Siakam had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a 114–105 closeout win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in game 5, helping lead the Indiana Pacers to their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. In game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Siakam scored a playoff career-high 39 points on 15-of-21 shooting in a 114–109 win over the New York Knicks, as the Pacers took a 2–0 series lead. In game 4 of the series, Siakam delivered 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting as the Pacers took a 3–1 lead. Siakam recorded 31 points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks in game 6 to help the Pacers reach a 125–108 victory over the Knicks, granting him his second visit to the NBA Finals and the first appearance for the Pacers since 2000. He was named the Eastern Conference finals MVP after averaging 24.8 points per game on 52.4% shooting from the field and 50% from three-point range. On 5 June, the first game of his second Finals, he led the Pacers by scoring 19 points in a 111–110 come-from-behind victory. The Pacers went on to lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games.

Player profile

Entering the NBA as a developmental prospect, Siakam expanded his role to emerge as a versatile, two-way wing player capable of scoring and playmaking. His positional versatility was shown during the 2021–22 season, when he started games at both center and point guard, averaging a then-career-high 5.3 assists per game while regularly passing out of double-teams. Siakam is also considered one of the best defenders in the NBA. He is known for his ability to guard against multiple positions, from guard to center, and serves both as a rim protector and a perimeter defender. Additionally, Siakam has gained a reputation for his efficiency in transition play, being noted for being one of the best in the league.

Awards and honors

NBA

NBA champion: 2019

4× NBA All-Star: 2020, 2023, 2025, 2026

2x All-NBA Team selection:

All-NBA Second Team: 2020

All-NBA Third Team: 2022

NBA Most Improved Player: 2019

2x NBA minutes played leader: 2022, 2023

NBA Eastern Conference Finals MVP: 2025

NBA D-League champion: 2017

NBA D-League Finals MVP: 2017

College

AP Honorable mention All-American (2016)

WAC Player of the Year (2016)

2× First-team All-WAC (2015, 2016)

WAC Freshman of the Year (2015)

Career statistics

Personal life

Siakam is the son of Tchamo Siakam, the former mayor of Makénéné, Cameroon, and Victorie Siakam. When his father died in a car crash in October 2014, Siakam was unable to attend the funeral because he was waiting for the issuance of a new U.S. visa. His three older brothers, Boris, Christian and James, all played NCAA Division I basketball in the United States—Boris at Western Kentucky, Christian at IUPUI, and James at Vanderbilt. Siakam goes by the nickname "Spicy P".

Partnerships

On 14 February 2023, Siakam and McDonald's Canada partnered on a limited edition McFlurry called the Siakam Swirl McFlurry. Inspired by Siakam's iconic spin move and the Raptors team colours, it is made with vanilla soft serve, hot fudge and crushed red Smarties. It was exclusive in Canada Siakam also partnered with the University of New Brunswick (UNB) to create the Pascal Siakam Scholarship, aimed towards providing funds for UNB students from Cameroon studying in technology-based programs. In September 2025, he received an honorary doctorate from UNB.