Pascal Siakam led the charge in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, scoring the first 11 points and finishing the night with 39 points on 65% shooting. Job well done? Siakam isn’t satisfied.
“It feels good, but it doesn’t matter, we gotta win four.” That was his hot-mike take after his Pacers beat the Knicks, 114-109, to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Final series.
Siakam is from Cameroon. His father, Tchamo, was the mayor of Makenene, Cameroon. Tchamo planned for him to become a priest, and Pascal matriculated for four years at St. Andrews Seminary in Bafaria. Then, he decided to pursue another calling, basketball, and he has been baptizing folks since.
Siakam’s game is not tricky, but it is relentlessly uphill. And that is no accident. Pascal could not attend the funeral for his father, who was tragically killed in a car accident in 2014; his U.S. Visa was hung up in paperwork. He sprinted through. Having not directly followed his brothers into basketball, it was a sprint once he did. He was the freshman of the year at New Mexico State in 2014-15, and then a unanimous pick for Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2015-16.
Tired yet? Exhausted?
In 2016, the Toronto Raptors drafted him with the 27th pick. Despite his undeniable athletic ability, it was a gamble because he needed development. He took Toronto’s “D” league (now renamed to “G” league for obvious reasons) to a championship and was named the Finals MVP. The Raptors couldn’t keep him off their roster, and for good reason. He was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2019. Never one to give in early and to keep running, he responded by being a key player, earning the Raptors an off-script NBA title the same year.
He raced through that process with the same grit and no quit he showed in Friday’s Pacer dominance of the Knicks at MSG.
Pascal’s home country has a running tradition and a race. The Mount Cameroon “La Course de L’Espoir” (The Race of Hope). The race is 24 miles. Uphill.
Siakam is lean, fast, humble, and relentless. For the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton is often the face of the franchise, and for good reason: he’s statistically the best clutch player…ever.
Pascal met the Knicks with his teammates on Friday, running uphill. He started the game 5-5 and did not let up. By the final buzzer, Pascal was 15-23, 65%, a breathtaking component in Rich Carlisle’s mad-scientist game plan.
Like his father, the mayor, he is a leader. Like his country, he challenges anyone to sprint uphill. His quiet comments after the game should make priests of us all: “It feels good, but it doesn’t matter; we gotta win 4.”
You can chase Pascal, but good luck catching him. He’s up there at the top of the mountain.
