Priority Sports’ Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman reported on Friday that Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell has agreed to a four-year, $45 million contract extension that will keep him in the NBA until the 2028-2029 season.
To keep their team together for the immediate future, the Indiana Pacers took yet another step.
On Friday, his agents informed several media outlets that the Pacers and veteran guard T.J. McConnell had reached an agreement on a four-year, $45 million extension. Indiana reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season thanks to McConnell’s career-high 10.2 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game.
McConnell now has a five-year, $54 million contract with the Pacers. He had been signed for $9.3 million for the 2024–25 season.
He averaged career-highs in scoring during both the regular season and playoffs, contributing significantly to Indiana’s run to the Eastern Conference finals.
McConnell’s extension caps a successful summer for the team in securing long-term contracts for key players like Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Obi Toppin.
McConnell, 32, spent his first four NBA seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers before joining the Pacers undrafted for his fifth season. In the postseason, he played 20 minutes per game for Indiana and averaged 11.8 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.1 rebounds.
McConnell and Hall of Famer Michael Cooper are the only players to average 10 points and 5 assists off the bench in a single postseason (at least 10 games). Last season, he finished second in the NBA in total assists from the bench, behind only Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings.
The Pacers have had a busy offseason, inking star forward Pascal Siakam to a four-year, $189.5 million maximum contract, forward Obi Toppin to a four-year contract, and swingman Andrew Nembhard to a three-year extension. The previous summer, the group inked Top pick monitor Tyrese Haliburton to a five-year, $260 million expansion. Of its center players, only center Myles Turner is confronting free organization in 2025.
During the playoffs, when Haliburton occasionally suffered from injuries, McConnell was especially useful to the Pacers. He had 11.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while shooting 48.6% from the field in the Eastern Conference semifinals game 7 win for the Pacers at Madison Square Garden. He scored 12 points, had seven assists, and shot 6-for-8 as a reserve in that game to help Indiana win.
In 2023 and 2024, McConnell’s scoring average increased monthly, going from 6 points per game in October to 6.8 points per game in November, 7.8 points per game in December, 9.1 points per game in January, 10.2 points per game in February, 13.7 points per game in March, and 15.1 points per game in April.
McConnell, who was born in Western Pennsylvania and played college basketball at Arizona and Duquesne, has been in the NBA for nine years, making his debut in October 2015 with the Philadelphia 76ers and Pacers. After going undrafted that year, he signed with the Sixers and signed with the Pacers as a free agent in 2019.