How Pascal Siakam falls upward

What follows is my response to a mailbag question from patron Brad Inman in which I was asked whether Pascal Siakam falls down more than any other player in the NBA and to what degree he does so with purposeful control. In collaboration with Samson Folk, this video podcast is a free trial for everyone. If you're new here and want to support independent writing/talking about actual basketball, please consider subscribing and/or sharing it around. Alright, on to the words about the Pacers.

By: Caitlin Cooper I @C2_Cooper

On January 16, Pascal Siakam had 26 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in what was a feisty 111-100 win over the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. With 1:37 to play in the fourth quarter and only one second left on the shot-clock, the lanky forward put the finishing touch on the victory, draining a fadeaway turnaround jump-shot at the buzzer with his touch, as he finished the play on the floor.

In that way, Siakam doesn't just leave everything on the floor in a figurative sense, he also quite literally spends a lot of time on the floor. According to 3D tracking data from Genius Sports, Siakam led the NBA in total falls during the 2024-25 regular season, hitting the deck 307 times while also ranking third in falls per game (3.9), trailing only Jalen Suggs (5.0) and Cam Thomas (4.3). Of the 307 falls, 58 came by reason of his jump-shot -- marking the highest tally of any non-guard.

And yet, to watch all of his collisions with the ground isn't to see a player who is clumsy or even necessarily conniving, at least as it relates to the dark arts of drawing contact, but rather incredibly coordinated, perhaps cautious, and maybe also a little bit calculating, acrobatically extending further to hold onto the ball longer and release the ball later.

Joining me to assess to what degree the All-Star power forward is falling upward by gracefully powering himself backward is once again Samson Folk, with the two of us discussing the angles that Siakam accesses from a variety of angles.

After watching every fall and tabulating the results, both as it pertains to the outcomes of the shots as well as the potential short and long-term costs of so frequently being in (free)fall, here is what was learned, along with the relevant timestamps:

0:00 - Introductions

2:33 - Revisiting a mailbag question from seven months ago

5:06 - Siakam makes more shots and, unsurprisingly, draws more shooting fouls when he falls on his jump-shot versus when he doesn't. How much of this is foul-baiting?

7:57 - Why Samson thinks the falls are premeditated and protective while also fitting Siakam's shot-mechanics

10:19 - Why Caitlin thinks the falls aren't just about avoiding the defender's landing space + how Siakam uses the floor to his advantage to create more sway

18:09 - Brief aside on the value of unique movers in the NBA

20:32 - Theories as to why Siakam started falling on a higher percentage of his jump-shots after being traded to the Pacers (drawing more aggressive closeouts! prioritizing health in a contract year! change of role! etc. etc. etc.)

24:28 - Fast-price to pay? Caitlin tracked how many ensuing transition possessions resulted from the falls (not a lot!)

28:12 - Siakam has a very fast average fall duration

30:27 - Brief aside on Homer Simpson and the word "twee" (naturally)

33:13 - How concerning, if at all, are the falls for Siakam's overall longevity + debating whether the falls will increase/decrease if his role changes again without Tyrese Haliburton

40:18 - Final verdicts on whether the falls are good/bad and to what degree he is "falling upward" with regard to this being a competitive advantage

41:30 - Special thanks to Brad Inman for the question and to the Basketball, She Wrote community for interacting and engaging with hyper-specific deep dives

43:45 - Closing banter about looking forward to the upcoming season for the Pacers, Caitlin guesting on Raptors podcasts, True Detective Season 1, The Princess Bride (of course), and Samson playing every sport, including throwing a discus like a baseball

57:32 - Thank you & Goodbye