Tyrese Haliburton, overrated

For only the second time in their history, and after twenty-five years, the Indiana Pacers are in the NBA Finals. It's a dream that no one could have imagined just a few weeks ago, and one that the franchise has never realized outside of the ABA in over half a century of history. Once again, coach Rick Carlisle’s team has been the surprise of the playoffs this year, just as they were in 2024, led by star player Tyrese Haliburton. But whereas that run ended in the Eastern Conference Finals, in 2025 the Pacers have gone even further. And made even more noise. They knocked out the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers with back-to-back gentlemen’s sweeps (4-1) in the early rounds, then dispatched the New York Knicks in six games—and now, they’re set to represent the East in the Finals.

On the other side are the heavy favorites of this postseason: the Oklahoma City Thunder, also chasing their first-ever NBA championship (excluding the one they won as the Seattle SuperSonics back in 1979). For the Thunder, the upcoming Finals mark a starting point—as the team to beat, but also as a glimpse into the future that awaits Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (fresh off his MVP award) and company. For the Pacers, just getting here already feels like a monumental achievement.

The NBA’s crown jewel has passed through the Hoosier State—basketball heartland—only once in history. Of course, that was in the Reggie Miller era. The Pacers tried again with Paul George and coach Frank Vogel, getting close, but never managing to break through the LeBron James wall. Now, they’ve made it all the way, led by one of the league’s youngest, brightest, and loudest stars. Yes, that same Haliburton who, just a month ago, was voted by some of his peers as the league’s most overrated player, and who has since silenced quite a few critics. On and off the court, though strictly in that order.

The “Overrated” Narrative

On April 29, The Athletic published its usual NBA Player Poll, an annual survey of current players conducted by the New York-based outlet. Players answered a series of questions anonymously, with the number of respondents ranging from 80 to 150 depending on the topic. And just like in past editions, one of the most talked-about responses was to the question about the league’s most overrated player. Tyrese Haliburton topped the list with 14.4% of the votes, ahead of Rudy Gobert, Trae Young, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green.

The result generated considerable buzz—arguably too much. After all, 13 votes out of 90 isn’t exactly a representative sample. Still, timing played a role, with the poll dropping right at the start of the playoffs, just as Haliburton was putting together some of his best performances. From that point on, his name was often paired with the word overrated: a label that’s hard to shake, but which the Pacers point guard has instead chosen to embrace—as a form of revenge.

But first, what does “overrated” even mean in this context? In American sports culture—and particularly in the NBA—it’s not just a technical judgment. It’s often a way to express annoyance toward the media attention, positive narrative, or contracts certain players receive. Unsurprisingly, past winners of the same award in The Athletic’s Player Poll include Rudy Gobert, Draymond Green, Trae Young, Russell Westbrook, and Karl-Anthony Towns: all highly visible, polarizing players often tied to contracts that some peers—perhaps not without jealousy—see as undeserved.

In Haliburton’s case, the verdict is a bit odd: he’s not a stat-hunting scorer—though his numbers are stellar—nor is he overly ball-dominant in Indiana’s offense; he’s not even particularly divisive off the court—at least not to the extent of others mentioned—or a media darling. But he plays with a distinctive style, both in his expressive body language and his words. He’s a two-time All-Star, an Olympic gold medalist, and the holder of a lucrative contract that’s been increasingly questioned over the last few months, amid highs and lows following the Pacers’ surprise 2024 playoff run. For some, that was enough. This wasn’t a technical critique, it was a reaction. To an image, more than a style of play.

The Revenge Tour

In the days after its release on The Athletic, Haliburton did not directly address the poll. When asked about it, he distanced himself from the poll, coldly. Then he started responding on the court with one standout performance after another, leading the Pacers to the top of the Eastern Conference. In the process, he got his own back on his critics, created his own counter-narrative and turned his postseason into a revenge tour.

When he closed out the series against Milwaukee, hitting the game-winner in one of the Pacers’ wild comebacks, he tweeted just two words: “overrate THAT".  Then came the Knicks series. In Game 1, after another crazy finish from him and Indiana, Haliburton mimed the choke gesture, the same iconic motion Reggie Miller once directed at Spike Lee at Madison Square Garden. And there were more signature moments: the big balls celebration after a three-pointer, mocking Brunson’s triple celebration, even gifting Towns a last-second inbound with 0.2 on the clock, almost mockingly. In short, the kind of player Americans call a villain. Even his family got involved—his father John was banned from the home arena after a postgame altercation with Giannis Antetokounmpo. But in the past week, he was reinstated and welcomed back into the Gainbridge Fieldhouse stands (formerly Bankers Life Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

A Superstar Without Asterisks

Last but not least, we need to talk about Haliburton’s actual performances and numbers in these playoffs. Across six games against New York, he averaged nearly 21 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds, with 2.5 steals and just 1.7 turnovers per game. In Game 4, he made NBA playoff history by posting the first-ever 30+ point, 15+ assist triple-double without a single turnover. That series saw him rack up 63 assists and only 10 turnovers—an AST/TO ratio of 6.3, an astounding number given his usage.

But as Haliburton himself puts it, it’s not just about the numbers. “Sometimes it feels like people are inventing stats just to make me look better,” he joked after Game 4 of the Conference Finals. “I just try to do what’s right—whatever it takes for the team to win.” And that, more than anything, is what makes this run remarkable: his ability to dominate without ever looking like he’s forcing the issue. He runs coach Carlisle’s offense like a computer—making reads that aren’t obvious even for seasoned veterans, let alone a 25-year-old in just his second postseason.

Haliburton broke down Milwaukee, Cleveland, and New York with a level of defensive manipulation reserved for the NBA’s top mega-creators. Thanks to him, Indiana sustains a breakneck pace for all 48 minutes without ever losing control. While the former Sacramento Kings guard was still an emerging star in 2024, this year he is both the technical and symbolic leader of an NBA Finals team. It's not just a matter of perception anymore: no one can say Tyrese Haliburton is overrated, let alone call him an exaggeration.