Tyrese Haliburton has been the star of the 2025 NBA Playoffs as he’s led the Indiana Pacers to the franchise’s first Finals since 2000 behind some heroic shotmaking.
The Pacers have managed to rally from several double-digit fourth-quarter deficits this postseason and Haliburton has been at the heart of all those comebacks as he finds ways to hit open teammates or take the clutch shots on his own. Haliburton had a relatively quiet Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but led another furious fourth-quarter comeback that ended with a game-winner from the right side of the floor.
Haliburton was named as one of the most overrated players in the league earlier this year, but he’s proving that the label is far from the truth. Even Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James went to bat for Haliburton as a player and a person, which goes to show he should be taken more seriously.
James isn’t the only member of the Lakers who is high on Haliburton as head coach JJ Redick has praised the Pacers guard in the past. For example, Redick called him the Sacramento Kings’ best player when he was traded to Indiana and that take is aging quite well:
Unhinged JJ Reddick said it best three years ago: https://t.co/reSr3FKpet pic.twitter.com/A5aq2Wph2G
— Meelz 💪🏾 (@MeelzTV) June 6, 2025
In the video, Redick criticizes the Kings for trading away Haliburton and had no problem calling him their best player even though he hadn’t established himself as a star yet. Sacramento received Domantas Sabonis in return and while he has been productive, Haliburton has panned out beyond expectations and Indiana clearly won the deal in hindsight.
This has been the story of Haliburton’s NBA career so far as he also fell in the 2020 NBA Draft despite expectations he would be picked in the top five. Instead, Haliburton slid to No. 12 where the Kings wisely selected him.
In the modern NBA, having a lead guard that can get to the cup and hit outside shots is key to an efficient offense and Haliburton is one of the best at both. He’s been on a historic playoff run and it’ll be exciting to see if it results in the Pacers’ first championship.
Tyrese Haliburton calls it super cool to receive shoutout from LeBron James
LeBron James has been happy to uplift the next generation of NBA players and Tyrese Haliburton acknowledged that it was super cool to receive a shoutout from the Lakers star.
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