Keifer Sykes, formerly of the Indiana Pacers
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 04: Keifer Sykes #28 of the Indiana Pacers in action against the New York Knicks during their game at Madison Square Garden on January 04, 2022 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
A former Indiana Pacers player has been arrested and charged with multiple traffic offenses, including operating a vehicle wile intoxicated.
Court records available online and viewed by Heavy show that in Brown County, Wisconsin, Keifer Sykes from Country Club Hills, Illinois has been charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, reckless driving and violating a red light during the night of November 27. The date of the offences listed in the online court records accord with social media posts from November 28 that show Sykes’s mugshot, confirming it to be the same Keifer Sykes that once played in the NBA.
According to the online records, Sykes pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, and is due to appear back in court later in February.
Sykes’s Brief NBA Career
Sykes, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, appeared in the NBA for the Pacers briefly in the 2021-22 season, entering the league as a rookie at the age of 28, after a decade of prolific scoring at every meaningful level below that. He appeared in 32 games that season, starting 11 of them, and averaged 5.6 points and 1.9 assists per contest down the stretch of a difficult 25-57 Pacers season.
Prior to his stint in the NBA, Sykes had first made the NBA as an undrafted free agent when he signed with the San Antonio Spurs for training camp back in 2015, and had featured in four different summer league rosters for various teams, but he never made a regular season roster until his stint with the Pacers.
Sykes would later go on to also have training camp stints with both the Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets. His time with the Pacers marks his only official NBA game time to date; however, outside of the NBA, he continues to play in what has been a much-travelled professional career.
NBA Talent In An NCAA Frame
Outside of the NBA, Sykes has been a premium scorer, despite his small size for any league. The 5’11 firebrand has averaged more than 15 points and 7 assists per game in two different G League seasons, and had initially played his way into NBA contention through averaging 16.5 points, 4.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game across his college career. Offsetting the size advantage was – in the earlier stages of his career, at least – an excellent level of athleticism and explosion that saw him compete in the 2015 NCAA Dunk Contest.
As a senior, Sykes was named the Horizon League Player of the Year, his second such accolade, and led the Phoenix to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in almost two decades. In 2023, Sykes was inducted into the Green Bay Hall of Fame on account of being one of only two players in program history to score more than 2,000 points in his career, the other being former Virginia head coach, Tony Bennett.
In addition to his multiple efforts to get into the NBA, Sykes has also spent time in Korea, Turkey, Italy, China, Australia, Greece and Poland, being an impact player at all of them. He has most recently signed to play in China, joining the second-tier NBL team Hubei, and averaging 11.6 points and 3.1 assists per game over his first three contests.