The Indiana Pacers don’t grab many headlines compared to other teams in the Eastern Conference, and Tyrese Haliburton may contribute to the team’s status as an underrated contender for the NBA title.
Haliburton is a talented basketball player who can orchestrate an offense and create his own shot, but he doesn’t grab people’s attention like other superstars in the league do. Add to the fact that the Pacers don’t have a second star to rely on, and it’s easy to see why many wouldn’t immediately think of Indiana as a place for great pro basketball.
The Pacers have been doing well against the Milwaukee Bucks in their playoff series, but that hasn’t been enough to erase the narratives surrounding Haliburton as an overrated player. It’s gone to the point that Rick Carlisle has gone public with his frustrations over the talk of his star man not being as good as advertised.
The man in question seems focused on letting his game do the talking, though.
Tyrese Haliburton quiets rumors about his reputation as being the most overrated player in the NBA
The buzz about Haliburton’s reputation surfaced when The Athletic released a poll that asked anonymous NBA players who they thought the most overrated player in the league was. A good 14% chose Haliburton ahead of players like Rudy Gobert, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jimmy Butler.
The Iowa State alum addressed the issue in a post-game presser, and he made it clear that the reputation is water off a duck’s back.
Per a piece published on The Athletic, via Heavy Sports’ Keith Watkins:
“I must be doing something right if that’s the case,” Haliburton told reporters postgame. “All I care about is this locker room and winning games… I know who I am. I’m confident in my own skin and not worried what anybody thinks.”
NBA fans who don’t follow Pacers basketball would likely understand where the sentiment came from upon checking Haliburton’s stats. He finished the regular season with 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 9.2 assists. While his shooting percentages are efficient, they wouldn’t blow anyone out of the water.
However, context also matters. While he didn’t have any eye-popping numbers, the fact that he led the Pacers to a 50-win season in a league full of talented players means that he’s contributing to the team in ways not visible to the stat sheet.
Buzz about Tyrese Haliburton’s status as an NBA star will surely die down if he manages to lead the Pacers to another deep postseason run. The fact that he’s already doing a marvelous job against the Bucks should tell fans all they need to know about his validity as a star in today’s league.
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