Tyrese Haliburton's Legend Is Growing Before Our Eyes
For much of this 2025 NBA postseason, big-name pundits and fans all over the internet have spent hours debating who will be the next the next face of the league. They've argued who deserves to be tagged as a superstar. They've talked in circles trying to avoid what became even more obvious in Thursday's Game 1 win for the Indiana Pacers:
Tyrese Haliburton absolutely is one of those superstars, at least in terms of his production. And two other prongs of his case are strengthening. Thursday, he added another massive moment to an exploding playoff legacy. And if he leads his Pacers to three more wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder, he'll have a trophy in the equation too.
Despite his team being down 15 in the fourth quarter, Haliburton helped Indiana charge all the way back. After his team secured a rebound with six seconds left and while needing one more point to erase that deficit entirely, Haliburton got two.
OKC is still a relatively heavy favorite to win the Finals, but Indiana just shortened those odds, thanks to the growing legend of Haliburton.
A Benchwarmer in Paris
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Less than a year ago, Haliburton earned the honor of playing for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but he appeared in just two games in the actual tournament.
And in those two games, he had six points, one assist and three fouls in 18 minutes.
There was some mostly good-natured ribbing about his lack of a role from fans online, but the best line on the experience came from the man himself.
Haliburton was a gold medal winner, but his Olympic story had more to do with what he didn't do.
And though he clearly had some fun feeding into the discussion online, Haliburton later admitted to ESPN's Jamal Collier that the entire experience tried him.
"I'm getting clowned," Hailburton said. "How do I respond? When the season starts, I'm like, 'I'm going to go now. I'm going to get back at y'all.'"
And that's exactly what he did.
A Wildly Underrated 2024-25 Campaign
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One of the general problems with NBA analysis from both media personalities and fans is that opinions are often formed way too early.
In the first 25 games of 2024-25, Indiana went 10-15. Haliburton averaged 17.5 points and 8.4 assists in that stretch. He shot 33.6 percent from deep.
Those aren't terrible numbers for most players, but they're below Haliburton's standards. And a below-standard first third of the season seemingly threw everyone off the scent.
Haliburton was Third Team All-NBA, despite various catch-all metrics from around the NBA suggesting he was one of this season's five best players.
After those first 25 games, he averaged 19.2 points and 9.6 assists, with a 41.9 three-point percentage. In that stretch, his team was 36-12 in games he played. It was plus-8.2 points per 100 possessions when Hali was on the floor and plus-0.1 when he was off.
He was undoubtedly one of the league's very best creators and distributors. And when necessary, he showed his ability to take over as a scorer.
A Third Team All-NBA nod is nothing to scoff at, but after this season, it likely wasn't enough of a nod for Haliburton. He had to do more to prove his value. And that's what's happening right now.
An Odds-Defying Postseason...
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The Pacers were slight favorites to win their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, but they were heavy underdogs against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals. And even after dispatching the East's top seed in five games, they were still dogs against the New York Knicks in the next round.
They, of course, won that one too.
Haliburton and his Pacers have been crushing expectations for months, but it was generally pretty quiet. With each successive upset, they're getting louder.
And though a postseason with this many wins that weren't supposed to happen is unique, it's starting to feel like a Haliburton staple.
...Filled With Spectacular Moments...
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Thursday's game-winner was far from Haliburton's first.
His numbers on that variety of shot are starting to look impossible.
For the entire 2024-25 campaign (regular and postseason), he's 12-of-13 on shots to tie or take the lead in the final 1:30 of fourth quarters (or overtimes). Even harder to believe, he's 6-of-7 on such shots this postseason.
And, as if that wasn't enough, Haliburton is averaging 18.5 points, 9.5 assists and just 2.0 turnovers during this playoff run.
He's had a monster outing or game-winner against each of his four postseason opponents. Against the Knicks, he had 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds and four steals in the Game 4 win. He closed out the Cavs with 31 points, eight assists and six threes. In the closeout game against Milwaukee, he had 26 points, nine assists, three steals and three blocks.
Even if it doesn't end with a title, it's been a truly legendary playoff run. If it does, we might have to start talking pretty wild about the face of the Pacers.
...And a Chance at Immortality
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Again, the Thunder are still supposed to win this series. They set the all-time single-season records for point differential, double-digit wins and 15-point wins. They had 18 more wins than Indiana in the regular season.
Even with the one-game head start they've given themselves, the Pacers winning this final series would be a monumental upset.
But all the better, right?
Haliburton has spent all of 2024-25 defying odds, crushing expectations and resetting the narrative after a tough stint with Team USA.
If his year ends with a championship, it'll go down as an all-time great individual campaign, even if the voters in the media didn't quite celebrate it the way they should've.
