Debrief: Jay Huff played 82 times this season. Can he play better next year?
Huff mixed in good and bad moments during his 82-game 2025-26 season.
INDIANAPOLIS – Jay Huff swatted 3.2 shots per 36 minutes this season, the second-best mark in the NBA. Only the tall Frenchman still playing in the NBA Finals did so more often. Blocks can be a misleading measure of rim deterrence, but they certainly measure something. In Huff's case, they were a reflection of his defensive timing and size when in the right position.
He played in 82 games, one of just 18 guys to do so this season. The Pacers found better ways to use him as the year went on, including some zones on defense and tweaks on offense that helped Huff operate closer to the rim. Nearly 20% of Huff's two-point shots were unassisted, a career-best number. He found his spots on the floor.
This is all to say: He did center-like things during year one in Indiana. The Pacers certainly hoped to see more perimeter pop, though. Huff's shooting ability was a key factor in his ascent while with Memphis in 2024-25, but he made just 31.9% of his triples this season. His perimeter defense was lacking. Despite the outlines of a three-and-D type big man, Huff has become more matchup dependent.
Tony East
Certain opponents struggled to contain Huff. The Charlotte Hornets, for example, wanted to drop back and crash the glass with their bigs. Huff bombed threes in those meetings – including two games with nine-plus attempts – and had one of his five 20-point games against the Hornets. Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Boston all faced similar issues when containing Huff.
Other matchups gave him trouble. New York, a switchy team with bruising bigs, comes to mind. Detroit, too (my brain can only think of Eastern Conference teams). The Pacers turned to other options those nights.
Doing center-like things is good, but Huff ended up being more center-like than expected. That's why he ranked 17th of the 18 players who played all 82 games in total minutes this past year. He was inconsistent and better in certain moments than others.
Many players are that way, to be clear. And Huff got better as the season progressed. His scoring and rebounding numbers both climbed in each quarter of the season. They reached 11.2 and 4.4 per night, respectively, in the Pacers last 21 games. Those numbers were 7.8 and 3.6 in the first 21 outings.
"I think this was a year where we tried to build winning habits," Huff said of learning what is needed as a center for the Pacers versus other teams. "Learn what we can do next year, learn things that work in our system. It was a big learning year for a lot of guys."
The Pacers did have a better net rating with Huff on the floor than off this season. That's natural for the team's best center for all but five games of a campaign. The team's offense was about 2.5 points per 100 possessions worse with Huff on the court than off, but their defense was over 3.5 points per 100 better when the Virginia product hit the hardwood. That matches the eye test.
It also opens up a question about what the Pacers will need from the backup five spot next year. President Kevin Pritchard hinted at a battle between Huff and his good friend Micah Potter – who did their exit interviews at the same time – next year. Potter is an ace shooter at the five spot and is quite mobile, making him an effective offensive weapon as a reserve center. But his size is limiting on defense, the end of the floor that Huff more often pops.
Huff has been a 35.1% three-point shooter during his career. It's reasonable to assume he can be better from deep than he was last season. But in 2025-26, he was one of 76 players to take at least 350 shots from beyond the arc. Huff's three-point percentage ranked 74th of the group (ahead of Bam Adebayo and Deni Avdija – good company!). He has to be more accurate from deep.
It's one of a few things that will matter in 2026-27 for the big man. Huff has yet to be on the same team in consecutive seasons during his entire career. Maybe this will be the first time, and that would help him.
The Pacers will hope so. He and Ivica Zubac have vastly different strengths, and that makes Huff's matchup dependency more noteworthy. He can be a frontcourt foil next year, but in a good way.
Continued progress, like he showed from quarter-to-quarter of his most recent season, will be key. "I think for a year like this, learning truly how to try to fit within this system. Because like we've said, we play a very unique style here," Huff said of something he learned in his first year with the Pacers. "Just trying to learn how to do that in a year that's just built on learning, I think, is something that I try to do as well as I can."
Huff should fit with the Pacers second unit. He can do some, if not many, of the things that made the likes of Jalen Smith, Thomas Bryant, Tony Bradley, and others successful backup centers for the team in recent seasons. And being a bench player for a full season should help Huff – he can get chemistry with a unit he projects to fit with well.
But simply, the Pacers need him to be more effective. His shot diet is that of a stretch five, but he didn't really stretch the floor this past season. His shot blocking and rim defense are nice, but he needs to do more on the glass and needs to use more force when guarding in the post.
Huff has earned his minutes, and a rotation spot, thanks to his improvements since his career began. He should be the leader for the backup five role entering 2026 training camp, barring other transactions. His growth from year one to year five shows up best in the games played stat: Huff went from four to seven to 20 to 64 to 82. His team's continue to trust him more and more.
Next year, the Pacers will have the highest expectations of a team Huff has ever played for (ok, probably about the same expectations as the 2023-24 Nuggets). The team's expectation for him should be higher, too. He's worked hard to play more. Now the Pacers need him to be more effective at both center and non-center skills.
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