TJ Leaf

admin

The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday they have exercised the options on TJ Leaf and Aaron Holiday for the 2020-21 season.

Leaf, a 6-10, 225-pound forward, is entering his third season with the Pacers and has career averages of 3.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.

Holiday, a 6-1, 185-pound guard is in his second season with the Pacers, with career averages of 5.9 points and 1.7 assists per game.

pacers-exercise-options-on-leaf-and-holiday

Pacers Exercise Options on Leaf and Holiday

TJ Leaf, the 18th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, held an introductory press conference on Friday afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

"I'm extremely excited to be here," Leaf said. "Indiana is like a second home to me. I can't wait to really get out here and start getting to work with all my teammates."

Leaf, a 6-10 power forward, turned pro after his freshman season at UCLA, where he played for head coach Steve Alford. He led the Bruins in scoring, averaging 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 61.7 percent from the field and 46.6 percent from 3-point range.

Leaf's mother is from Evansville and his father, Brad, grew up in Indianapolis and attended Lawrence North before starring at the University of Evansville. He was drafted by the Pacers in the seventh round in 1982, though he never played for the franchise. He did, however, enjoy a lengthy professional career in Israel, where T.J. was born in 1997.

Leaf was joined at Friday's press conference by Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard and head coach Nate McMillan.

"We're really excited," Pritchard said about drafting Leaf. "We feel like we got a top-10 pick in this kid. And when you're picking 18, that's pretty good.

"We expect him to come in and compete right away. He has some amazing offensive tools."

Pacers.com's Pat Boylan also hosted a Facebook Live Q&A with the Pacers forward, answering questions from Indiana fans. You can watch both Leaf's press conference and Q&A in the video player above.

TJ Leaf

Pacers Exercise Options on Leaf and Holiday

TJ Leaf Holds Introductory Press Conference

Pacers Hosting Fourth Pre-Draft Workout on Tuesday