39 points + 31 points! In just one year, he led the team to the finals + won the Eastern Conference MVP, and the King of North finally rose

When the final whistle rang through the Conseko Arena, Siakam looked up at the scoreboard hanging on the dome. When the score was finally frozen at 125-108, Siakam clenched his fists and let out a burst of roar! Not only did the Pacers reach the finals again after 25 years, Siakam is the absolute hero of the Pacers' winning game! 10 of 18, 8 of 11 free throws, 3 of 3 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, plus or negative value +25, the team ranked first. The 31-point light not only penetrated the hustle and bustle of this basketball temple, but also pierced the cloud of doubts that had long been shrouded in him. This Cameroonian striker, who once reached the top in Toronto, is now in the posture of a new Indiana king, announcing that the former king of the North who had been dormant for many years has truly risen again.

Time is turned back in January 2024. When the Raptors sent Siakam to the Pacers for Bruce Brown and three first-round picks, Toronto media called it "a necessary reconstruction pain", while the Indiana forum was full of doubts: "We really need this 29-year-old former All-Star?" Before that, Siakam and the Raptors were having a big fight over contract renewal. As the second person in the Raptors' championship, Siakam hoped to get a long-term maximum salary contract, but the Raptors' management was only willing to offer a three-year, $125 million contract renewal. After Siakam refused, the Raptors completely lost patience - although he averaged 19.8 points per game in the 2019 Finals, turning into a sharp blade that stabbed the Warriors' heart. In the four seasons after Leonard's Westward Journey, Siakam, who had a four-year and 130 million contract, was labeled as an "inefficient single player" by the outside world. When the Raptors' record declined sharply, and when he finally put him on the shelves, most teams in the league were only willing to test with garbage contracts. The gear of destiny began to rotate again in Indiana. When coach Carlisle met Sika for the first time, he only wrote two words on the tactical board: "space" and "conversion", which completely allowed Sikam to see his positioning and future in this young team. This young army, helmed by Halliburton and second in the offensive efficiency league, does not need to hold the ball and hold the core, but an all-around forward that can end in high-speed offense and defense. Siakam's joining resulted in an immediate effect: in his first season of joining the Pacers, the team's scored 4.2 points per 100 rounds, and Siaka scored a career high of 62.3%. Once the Raptors had an assist rate of only 34.7% soared in the Pacers system - more than half of the scores came from Halliburton's wonderful pass or a second attack, Sika perfectly adapted to Carlisle's "5-out" system.

East Final G2 has become a perfect microcosm of Siakam's technological transformation. When Halliburton was double-teamed, he was punished with misalignment for seven back-to-back singles; when the Knicks contracted the inside, he sniped a long-range 3-point shooting percentage. What's even more fatal is the critical moment of the final quarter: when Brunson scored 9 points in a row to catch up with a 1-point difference, Siakam first scored 2+1 in the three-man siege, and then broke through the bottom line blocked by a double-player to lock in the victory. In this game, Siakam scored 39 points, setting a new high in his personal playoff score, and becoming the first player in the Pacers' history to score 35 points + 5 rebounds in a single game. The critical moment that was once criticized was ruthless and had transformed into a big-hearted killer; the once rough basket ended and became delicate and fatal under the guidance of Carlisle.

This comprehensive evolution stems from painful self-remodeling. During the Raptors' period, shoulder injury caused his basket shooting percentage to fall below 70%, and his jump shot efficiency was bleak. Under the escort of the Pacers' medical team, he not only recovered his health, but also developed a stable three-pointer. This year's playoffs, Siakam's three-point shooting percentage was as high as 46.3%, and his receiving and shooting percentage soared to 57.2%. When experts determined that he could not adapt to the lack of the ball, he crushed his doubts with his actions. As Sports Illustrated said: "This is not a simple comeback, but a professional player's re-understanding of the nature of basketball." This year's playoffs, Siakam's value shines like a beacon in the Pacers' young lineup. In the first round against the Bucks, Halliburton was in a sluggish state. He made 30 of 48 shots in the first three games, setting the tone for the lower-level defeat. The Eastern Final Battle started, with 24.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.7 blocks, shooting percentage of 52.4%, three-point shooting percentage of 50%, free throw shooting percentage of 67.4%, and real shooting percentage of 61%. Since the series, Siakam has scored as much as 44% through misaligned singles. He targeted the Knicks' inside players through pick-and-roll, forcing the opponent's defensive resources to tilt, indirectly freeing the offensive space of teammates such as Halliburton. Sika became the sharp blade to tear the Knicks' defense line in the East Finals. With his dominant performance at both offense and defense, he won the MVP trophy of the East Finals without any suspense - this is not only a personal honor, but also the loudest counterattack to the transaction doubts.

Looking back at last year's trading deadline, Pacers' basketball operations president Kevin Pritchard bets on Siakam's decision. The operation of the small market team in exchange for the right to use the three first round picks was once ridiculed as a "desperate move." In just four months, Siakam brought the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals with a superstar performance averaging 21.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 54.1% shooting percentage. A year later, Siakam once again led the team to the finals with an average of 21.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game, a shooting percentage of 53.7%, and a 3-point shooting percentage of 46.3%! After joining the Pacers, the Pacers offered Siciakam a maximum salary of 189.5 million yuan in four years. At that time, the contract was rated by the outside world as the helpless move of Indiana to break the "small market hard to keep superstars". Now it seems that it is a far-sighted vision. From Toronto’s abandoned son to Indiana’s totem, Siakam’s road to rise is full of thorns. The edge of the 2019 finals was misunderstood as a lucky draw for "system players"; in the years of carrying the Raptors' banner alone, doubts follow. But the true king never comes to his reputation at the peak, but is reborn in the trough. When he looked up at the O'Brien Cup in the finals, the No. 27 show, which was once despised, has redefined the quality of the "formerly King of the Northern Territory" with the Book of Steel! Not all salvation requires noise and the evolution of silence is often the most devastating.