When the Pacers traded for Siakam two Januarys ago and later re-signed him, he was seen as the type of star for whom the Pacers had to settle. Indianapolis, being a non-glamour market, would never get a superstar to pair with Haliburton, so they had to search elsewhere. Siakam would have to be good enough. Across the board, he has been.

But it was star forward Pascal Siakam who won the MVP award for the Eastern Conference Finals. However, during his speech, Siakam admitted that he "wasn't the guy". "I'm happy, I'm blessed man. It's been a crazy journey.

Indiana Pacers power forward Pascal Siakam etched his name into the history books Saturday night. After leading the Pacers to the NBA Finals with a commanding six-game series win over the New York Knicks, Siakam was named the Eastern Conference Finals MVP.