The Indiana Pacers knew this season would be difficult without Tyrese Haliburton, but no one anticipated a collapse this severe.

A month into the 2025–26 campaign, Indiana has stumbled to a league-worst 1–12 record, watched its offence evaporate, and endured an injury list that grows longer every week.

For a team that reached the NBA Finals not long ago, the turnaround has been shocking, and it's forced a serious question:

Are the Pacers actually the worst team in the NBA right now?

A start that spiralled fast

Haliburton's Achilles injury set expectations low, but Indiana's start has still been far worse than projected.

Indiana opened the year losing 12 of its first 13 games, the worst beginning in franchise history and one of the most dramatic drop-offs by a Finals team in decades.

Their metrics mirror the results:

  • Worst field goal percentage in the league, hovering just around 40%.
  • One of the NBA's lowest three-point percentages.
  • Bottom-tier offensive rating.

This isn't a team missing shots it normally makes.

This is a team completely unable to generate the looks that made last year's offence so dangerous.

Injuries have dismantled the rotation

While every team deals with injuries, Indiana's situation is extreme.

Haliburton's absence was only the beginning.

Bennedict Mathurin, who was projected to break out, played two games before suffering from a right toe sprain.

Aaron Nesmith went down with a knee issue.

Obi Toppin won't return until at least February.

Andrew Nembhard and TJ McConnell both missed time early.

Role players like Johnny Furphy, Taelon Peter, and Quenton Jackson have bounced in and out of availability.

At several points, the Pacers were left with half a roster. Coach Carlisle's system depends on pace, chemistry, and capable ball-handlers.

Indiana has had none of those.

With creators injured and shooters unavailable, the offence has collapsed into a predictable, stagnant grind.

Even the defence, which has held up better, can only compensate so much.

When a season becomes a reset

As bleak as this stretch looks, there is a strange silver lining.

The 2026 NBA Draft is loaded, and Indiana projects to be firmly in the lottery.

With Haliburton returning next year and a young core still developing, adding another top prospect could reshape their long-term outlook.

This isn't a tank, it's a team trying to survive an impossible combination of injuries and regression.

Mathurin's return offers a bit of relief. McConnell's presence restores some structure. But nothing this season will erase how hard Indiana was hit before it ever found its footing.

So… Are they the worst team in the NBA?

Right now, yes.

By record, efficiency, and overall performance, the Pacers are playing like the weakest team in the league.

They're struggling now, but the long-term picture is still encouraging.