INDIANAPOLIS – Pacers second-year forward Jarace Walker will miss at least the first two games of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a sprained right ankle, coach Rick Carlisle said Monday morning in his weekly radio interview with James Boyd and Kevin Bowen on 107.5 FM The Fan.
Carlisle said Walker will be out for “a while” but the spread-out nature of the NBA Finals would give him time for treatment and possibly heal. However, he said Walker was still on crutches Sunday and the ankle had swollen significantly, and Walker would be listed as “out” on the injury report for the first two games.
He turned the ankle severely early in the fourth quarter of the Pacers’ Game 6 win over the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals when he was trying to defend a drive, leaped to block a shot and landed on side of his right foot. He struggled to get up and had to crawl off the floor after a change of possessions. He was on crutches for the conference championship ceremony.
Carlisle said he wouldn’t release the grade of the sprain but did not at any point suggest Walker’s ankle sustained a fracture.
Walker, the No. 8 pick in the 2023 draft out of Houston, was in and out of the Pacers’ second unit this season, but the Pacers have been playing up to 11 men in playoff games to try to create a “wear-down effect” with full-court pressure defense, fast-breaking offense and fresh legs.
The 6-8, 240-pounder averaged 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in the regular season, appearing in 75 games after playing just 33 as a rookie. He appeared in 12 of the Pacers’ 16 playoff games in the first three rounds, averaging 3.0 points per game in 9.8 minutes per game.
2025 NBA Finals schedule: Indiana Pacers vs OKC Thunder
(*-if necessary; all games are ET and on ABC)
- Game 1, Thurs., June 5: at Thunder, 8:30 p.m.
- Game 2, Sun., June 8: at Thunder, 8 p.m.
- Game 3, Wed., June 11: at Pacers, 8:30 p.m.
- Game 4, Fri., June 13: at Pacers, 8:30 p.m.
- *-Game 5, Mon., June 16: at Thunder, 8:30 p.m.
- *-Game 6, Thurs., June 19: at Pacers, 8:30 p.m.
- *-Game 7, Sun., June 22: at Thunder, 8 p.m.
Get IndyStar’s Pacers coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Pacers Update newsletter.
