JARACE Walker

Walker played 76 games for Indiana last season and averaged 25.7 minutes. He scored 11.6 points per game with 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.3 blocks. He turned the ball over 1.8 times a game. His shooting line was 41.9 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from three, with 74.9 percent at the free-throw line. His true shooting percentage was 54.3 and his usage rate was 20.0 percent. The plus-minus was the sore spot at minus-6.0 per game, which tracked with a rough stretch of team results late in the year. The three-point number stands out for a forward of his size. If he holds 37.4 percent from deep again, he gives Indiana a frontcourt shooter who can also rebound and pass.

Walker has two game logs this October. On October 7 against Minnesota, Indiana won and Walker filled the box score with 7 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists in 28.1 minutes. His plus-minus in that game was plus-18.0. The 10 assists are the highest total in any of his listed games, and they came in a win. Three days later, on October 10 against Atlanta, Indiana lost and Walker had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in 20.1 minutes with a plus-minus of minus-11.0. The Day-To-Day designation came four days after that Atlanta game. Two games are a small sample, but the Minnesota performance showed a version of Walker who runs offense from the forward spot rather than just finishing plays.

Walker's final stretch of 2025-26 was a mix of production and losing. On April 10 against Philadelphia he scored 17 points with 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 29.3 minutes. The night before, April 9 against Brooklyn, he put up 14 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in 29.6 minutes in a Pacers win. On April 7 against Minnesota he had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in a loss. In late March he had back-to-back 20-point games: 21 points against San Antonio on March 21 and 20 points against Orlando on March 23, the latter in a win. The March 27 game against the Clippers was a 4.4-minute cameo with 5 points. Indiana lost six of the last eight games listed, which explains the negative plus-minus on his season line.

The three areas that define Walker's season are minutes, shooting efficiency and playmaking. He averaged 25.7 minutes last season. Whether that number climbs depends on the rotation around him and on his two-way play. The 41.9 percent field-goal mark is modest, so the three-point shot at 37.4 percent has to keep carrying his scoring. The playmaking is the upside. He had 10 assists against Minnesota this month and 8 against Brooklyn in April, both in Pacers wins. A forward who can pass at that rate changes how Indiana can build lineups. There are no rumors attached to Walker right now. No trade talk, no contract chatter. He is a 23-year-old on his original team with a clean bill of health and a defined set of skills to build on.