“I was born with it” - Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam gets candid about his soccer skills amid preparations ahead of NBA Finals Game 5

Indiana Pacers power forward Pascal Siakam has put up a fairly decent performance up until now as the team prepares for Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ahead of the crucial match, Siakam, in a recent interview, talks about his life skills, interest in other sports including soccer, and most valuable skill on the court, lightening the mood of fans and the audience amid the intense Final series.

Pascal Siakam lists out his interests other than basketball, talks about his favorite skill on the court

Cameroonian professional basketball player Pascal Siakam has had a fairly decent career graph, becoming an NBA All-Star thrice and an All-NBA selection twice. The player even led his former team, the Toronto Raptors, to the NBA Championship in 2019. Keeping his performance streak intact, the player became a part of the Indiana Pacers in 2024 and has led the team, alongside Tyrese Haliburton, to the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Pacers last made it to the finals in 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers.After a fairly impressive playoff performance, Siakam has secured an average of 20.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the 2024-25 season. With the series finale now standing at 2-2 after Game 4, the pressure is quite high on both teams, and Siakam being a core player for the Pacers, all eyes are on the player’s next move on the court.Amid the tense situation, a light-hearted conversation was initiated with Pascal ahead of Game 5.

The short clip reflected on the interests of the player outside the court as well as the life skills acquired by the 31-year-old player to date. The player reacted to one of his previous videos, where he was shown displaying soccer skills.“What’s happening? Oh yeah. Oh my God. It’s just a lot of skills, man. That’s what I do” Siakam lightened the tense environment with his comments. When asked about the source of the soccer skills, the player replied, “I was born with it. I am from Cameroon. So…”

Siakam further added to the list of sports that he is skilled in, “Volleyball, Handball, track and field.

If I wanna jump, I can jump. Any sports, that I really wanna get into, I can be alright.”The player pointed out his best skill within the basketball court, “I just like my speed. I think speed kills, so.” Siakam went on to list out one life skill that has been really close to him, “Being able to bounce back, I think that’s kind of like my superpower. Never giving up.”Also read: Referee Scott Foster under fire over NBA Finals Game 4, Indiana Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle calls backlash “stupid”The candid conversation attracted the attention of fans across the internet. Siakam is known for his skills and now the community knows about his life skills as well as his off-the-court interests other than basketball. Game 5 has been scheduled for June 16, 2025.