Pacers get primetime push in 2024-25 NBA season

The intrigue: While the league gives our home team a push befitting a championship contender led by a popular Olympic gold medalist, expect the City of Indianapolis to make a big deal about the upcoming season, too.

• Local sports and civic leaders say they plan to make Indy the global epicenter of sports over the next 25 years.

State of play: The Pacers will grab the national spotlight 14 times this season including five games on ESPN, four on TNT and four on NBA TV.

• That's more than double the six nationally-televised games on their initial schedule last season.

Zoom in: The Pacers begin the season with a pair of tough road games in Detroit to take on the Pistons on Oct. 23., and in New York versus the Knicks on Oct. 25.

• The Pacers beat the Knicks during their 2024 playoff run to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
• The home opener is against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 27.

Zoom out: The Pacers will go global when they play the San Antonio Spurs in Paris on Jan. 23 and Jan. 25 — the second time ever they've played a regular season game overseas.

What we're watching: How the team that got closer to the NBA Finals than any other Pacers squad since 2014 will improve.

• NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton is coming in with gold medal momentum and without his postseason hamstring issues.
• All-Star Pascal Siakam signed a new deal over the summer to stay in Indy, and Myles Turner begins his 10th season with the Blue & Gold.