By Collin Hatfield
May 8, 2025 | 5:40 pm

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers at Crypto.com Arena on March 24, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. 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 Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The 4th-seeded Indiana Pacers currently command a 2-0 lead over the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. However, a major narrative that has overtaken this postseason run is an anonymous poll by NBA players through The Athletic. In said poll, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton was voted the most overrated player in the league.

After game 2 of the first round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Haliburton was asked about the poll. He said, “I’m good, I could care less”. While his verbal response was tame, on the court he’s been explosive and aggressive leading this underdog Pacers team.

Overrated?

To me it seems simple how we arrived here. Haliburton is the general of a very successful Pacers rebuild. In three full seasons, two playoff trips — one ending in the Eastern Conference Finals (ECF) versus the Boston Celtics in a deceiving sweep — the current run is looking very healthy. He’s now the face of a franchise and dearly beloved in the city, and has racked up two all-star nods and an All-NBA seat. His star has shone brightly, and that’s typically where jealousy starts.

The common excuse last year was that Indiana only made it to the ECF because they beat up on unhealthy teams. This is a poorly constructed argument at best.

The reigning champion Celtics defeated the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs last year. Guess what, they had no Jimmy Butler, a known playoff riser and widely considered their best player. In the second round their opponent the Cleveland Cavaliers, had no Jarrett Allen, and missed all-star Donovan Mitchell for two games.

Trickling all the way down to Indiana, Boston beat them in four games, but they didn’t have Benedict Mathurin who could create shots on ball chipping in 14.5 points per contest. Are you starting to see how feeble this argument is? By April & May everyone is hurt, no team is whole.

Unorthodox playstyle

Nothing about Tyrese Haliburton’s play style is regular, from the fling-type motion in the jumpshot to the herky-jerky ball-handling style. Also, basketball philosophy tells us speed kills, and those who utilize it tend to have really good counting stats. Look at Steve Nash under Coach Mike D’Antoni! In the “seven seconds or less era” under D’Antoni, Nash averaged 17.7 points per game and 11.2 assists per game.

This year’s Denver Nuggets team, led by Nikola Jokic ranked 8th in the league in pace. Jokic averaged a historic 29.6 points per game, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game! As you can see, pace enhances already great talents.

Haliburton has no doubt been the beneficiary of that for the Pacers. Since arriving in Indiana, he’s posted numbers of 20.2 points and 10.2 assists a night; these numbers are flat out insane. They are comparable to prime Nash and Chris Paul!

What makes it confusing is that most players have a dominant physical ability or scoring area. Brunson has wondrous footwork and a silky smooth pull-up jumper. De’Aaron Fox has blazing speed and that allows him to live at the rim. Steph Curry has otherworldly conditioning and the greatest three-point shot the sport has ever seen. Haliburton is a good shooter but not elite, he’s not the greatest 1v1 creator around and he’s not an exceptional athlete.

I truly believe this unconventional route of being an offensive engine confuses others. He elects to play at a hyper pace, cutting through the middle of defenses on fast breaks, creating mismatches and miscommunications from the defense. He lives in the pick and roll where he can manipulate the help defenders no matter what they choose and score if need be.

The game of basketball is largely built on pride: can I score on the man in front of me and stop him from scoring? But when you have a guy whose game is not built on that and he’s still dominating, it can be hard to accept.

Underappreciated

Quite frankly, Haliburton is much more on the side of being underappreciated. He’s been the face of an astounding Pacers turnaround. He’s posting numbers like prime offensive engines, guys like Nash, Paul, Magic Johnson, etc.

He has given this Pacers era an identity and made the adjustments they needed. They severely lacked on the defensive end last year, but it has improved. Whether you noticed or not he was an active participant in the full-court trapping and man-to-man defense. He’ll never be Gary Payton on that end but he’s become serviceable defensively.

We’ve watched him go toe to toe in the playoffs and outduel greats like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell. Sure, he rode the bench at the Olympics, if you want a dig.

Whether it’s a cowardly anonymous poll or the premier voices in NBA media, I think this situation serves to open up a greater dialogue. One geared around great players in smaller markets! If Haliburton were in New York or LA, the narrative around him would be very different.

Just because he plays in a smaller market doesn’t make his accomplishments any less valuable or important.

We should view basketball as it is, and put people at the forefront of the media who will celebrate the game and its upcoming stars regardless of location.