Tyrese Haliburton Channels Kobe Bryant, Says 'Overrate THAT' After Pacers Bounce Bucks
Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton proved a point to the rest of the NBA by leading his team past the Milwaukee Bucks with a game-winning bucket in Tuesday's Game 5 to close out their first-round playoff series.
After the game, Haliburton, who was voted the league's most overrated player in The Athletic's annual player poll, took to social media with a brief message that was reminiscent of the late, great Kobe Bryant:
Bryant memorably had a similar message 12 years ago after he dominated the Dallas Mavericks following comments from their former majority owner Mark Cuban that suggested the Los Angeles Lakers use the amnesty clause on him:
Haliburton led the Pacers with 26 points and nine assists while adding five rebounds, three steals and three blocks in Tuesday night's 119-118 overtime win. He converted a go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime to give Indiana the victory after a wild sequence:
The Athletic's anonymous player poll had 90 players respond to the "most overrated player" question. Haliburton received 14.4 percent of the votes, finishing well ahead of Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (10.0 percent) and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (8.9 percent). Still, Haliburton didn't allow the results of the poll to affect his mindset as he tries to lead the Pacers through the postseason.
"I must be doing something right if that’s the case," Haliburton said of the poll last week, per The Athletic's James Boyd. "I don’t have a big speech or comment on it. All I care about is this locker room and winning games, and we’re in position to go to Milwaukee and continue this series on. … I know who I am. I’m confident in my own skin and not worried what anybody thinks."
This marks the second straight year that Haliburton led the Pacers past the Central Division rival Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. After being swept in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, Indiana will surely be motivated to have a better finish this time around.
Haliburton and the Pacers will try to pull off a monumental upset when they face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
