Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton has used the 2025 postseason to silence his doubters.
In The Athletic’s anonymous player poll released in April, Haliburton was voted as the league’s most overrated player, but he dispelled that notion by leading the Pacers to the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ahead of Monday’s Game 5, Indiana guard T.J. McConnell said during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio that Haliburton never should’ve been considered overrated in the first place.
“Certainly unfair, not true. The whole overrated thing, I still can’t wrap my mind around it,” McConnell said. “It’s one of the worst takes I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Haliburton has been one of the biggest stars of the playoffs after helping lead the Pacers past the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks. Indiana is tied 2-2 with Oklahoma City entering Monday’s Game 5 as the team chases its first NBA championship in franchise history.
McConnell went on to add that Haliburton’s outside perception is far from reality, and his strong relationship with his teammates helps push the Pacers to be better.
“The guy is the furthest thing from overrated. He’s an incredible teammate. He’s shown the world throughout these playoffs what kind of player we see on a daily basis,” McConnell said. “But people don’t see what type of person and teammate he is. So when someone says stuff like that about our franchise guy, you want to go to bat for him every single day. He’s done a great job of blocking out all that noise and just focusing on our team. That’s who Ty is.”
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