Lakers' LeBron James Praises Tyrese Haliburton Amid Pacers' NBA Finals Run
Ahead of the start of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James praised Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton on Wednesday.
Speaking on his Mind the Game podcast (beginning at the 1:27 mark), James discussed the time he spent with Haliburton as part of the United States men's basketball team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, calling Haliburton "a great person."
James spoke highly of Haliburton's upbeat personality, adding: "You look at what's going on with the Pacers throughout the regular season and now throughout the postseason, you get it. You get why they are the team they are, and it starts with the head of the snake, and that's with Hali. You can gravitate and bring energy and love and run through a wall for certain guys, and he's a guy that you would do that for just because of how he plays the game."
LeBron was also complimentary of Haliburton always being himself, including entering hostile playoff environments with a smile despite some pushing the narrative that players should always have their game face on.
"Hali is one of them ones," James said. "The success is not happening just because it just came out of the blue. It's happening because of Hali and that team. They're built perfectly for that group."
Despite surprisingly reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season, few expected the Pacers to make a return trip this year due to the dominance of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics during the regular season.
The Pacers, who were the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 50-32 record, shocked the basketball world, though, by eliminating the Cavs in five games in the second round.
Then, in a rematch of last year's second-round matchup, the Pacers got the better of the New York Knicks again, this time beating them 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Pascal Siakam was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP and is the Pacers' leading scorer during the playoffs, but a strong case can be made for Haliburton being Indiana's most valuable player throughout the postseason.
In addition to averaging 18.8 points, 9.8 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, Haliburton made countless clutch shots during the ECF, including a buzzer-beater to send Game 1 to overtime.
The Pacers went on to win that game, and if they hadn't, it could have totally shifted the momentum of the series toward New York.
Now, the Pacers are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000 against a Thunder team that led the NBA with a 68-14 record this season.
The Pacers are underdogs once again, but based on how the playoffs have gone, Haliburton and Co. figure to be up for the challenge.
Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals kicks off Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET in OKC.
