LeBron Says Haliburton Cemented Legacy, Rips Haters for Overrated Narrative After NBA Finals, Injury

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James doesn't believe losing the 2025 NBA Finals did anything to hurt the Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton from a legacy standpoint.

"I think the conversation coming out of that was, 'Man, this guy gave it everything, his whole body,'" James said starting at the 6:50 mark in the newest episode of the Mind the Game podcast. "No matter how he felt coming into Game 6, no matter how he felt coming into Game 5, what he did for Game 7 — putting his body on the line — to go through that moment at that time. Everything that you would've got with winning it, you got with losing."

LeBron also echoed his earlier remarks about when calling out the "overrated" label that surrounded Haliburton last season.

In an anonymous poll of 90 NBA players by The Athletic's Sam Amick and Josh Robbins, Haliburton eclipsed Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and received the most votes for the topic of the most overrated in the league.

The two-time All-Star brushed off the slight, but he certainly seemed to be on a mission for the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs. His postseason performance was particularly inspired. He averaged 17.3 points and 8.6 assists while hitting big shot after big shot.

Puma released a shirt in Haliburton's honor that simply read, "Overrate That":

The Pacers went the distance with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals, and Indiana remained competitive despite losing Haliburton after eight minutes in Game 7. It was an underdog run few saw coming.

Winning a championship is often a legacy-defining achievement, and it's one of the first metrics considered when evaluating a player's career.

In the case of Haliburton, the outcome of the 2025 Finals was immaterial toward cementing his ascension on the court.