Pascal Siakam shows love to Toronto Raptors fans in live TV interview

Even though it's been nearly a year and a half since he last played for the Toronto Raptors, Pascal Siakam hasn't lost his love for his first NBA team.

The former Raptors star is now just one game away from returning to his second NBA Finals, with his Indiana Pacers now up 3-1 over the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

After putting up 30 points during Tuesday night's Game 4 win over the Knicks, Siakam joined the Inside the NBA crew on TNT to chat about his success since coming to the Pacers in January 2024 — and how he'd compare it to his time in Toronto, where he won the NBA title in 2019.

"I think the first thing you mentioned is the fans," Siakam said during the interview. "I remember in Toronto just how passionate they were about our team, the things that we're able to do, and it's the same thing here. They go so crazy about us, and the support has just been amazing. [From] the organization to the fans, like everyone has just been awesome."

Siakam also touched on a few differences between the two teams, including coaching styles between ex-Raptors coach Nick Nurse and current Pacers coach Rick Carlisle.

"In terms of teams, we have great players, we have [Tyrese Haliburton] that's controlling the pace for us. What's different [a] little bit from the team that we had, it's a team effort every night. You got different guys that's going to step up, we go 12-13 [players deep in our rotation]."

Thirteen players have played at least five minutes per game in the playoffs for the Pacers when they've suited up, compared to just eight for the 2018-19 Raptors. Fourteen players did suit up for Toronto at some point during that playoff run, but five of them for 50 minutes or less throughout the four rounds.

"No matter what, we [have] got guys ready to step in. That makes it a little bit different, but at the end of the day, I just like our spirit, how resilient we are, it's one of the things that we had out there in Toronto also," Siakam added.