Tyrese Haliburton is quietly crafting one of the coldest late-game résumés in the NBA and the numbers back it up in spectacular fashion.
Despite being labeled the league’s “most overrated player” in a recent anonymous players’ poll, Haliburton has delivered time and again when the stakes are highest. In fact, he’s currently shooting a mind-boggling 91% in tie-or-lead situations during the final minute of regulation or overtime this season. Yes, 91%.
This stretch of late-game excellence began during the regular season and has only intensified in the playoffs. Haliburton has now hit 10 clutch shots to either tie or give his team the lead in the dying moments of games, seven in the regular season, and three more in the playoffs.
Tyrese Haliburton is 10-for-11 (91%) when taking a shot to tie or take the lead in the final 90 seconds of the 4th quarter or overtime this season.
here are all 10 of his makes: pic.twitter.com/v5Sd8nxwmW
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 7, 2025
The run started with a huge moment against the Philadelphia 76ers, when Haliburton drilled a game-tying shot with less than four seconds remaining. Just days later, he splashed a difficult three-pointer to tie the game against the Orlando Magic with 50 seconds left.
While he missed one shot in a tight contest against the Boston Celtics that eventually went to overtime, he followed it up by tying the game with a mid-range jumper against the Miami Heat.
The highlights only got better. Against the Utah Jazz, Haliburton calmly sank a go-ahead three-pointer with under a minute left to seal the win.
Then came his most iconic regular-season moment: a dramatic four-point play against the Milwaukee Bucks, hitting a tough shot and converting the free throw to ice the game in front of a buzzing crowd.
And the clutch gene didn’t stop there. He drove past the Lakers’ defense for a game-winning and-one layup with under 10 seconds to go, only for LeBron James to one-up him with a buzzer-beater seconds later.
Still, Haliburton did his job. He added another clutch triple to beat his former team, the Sacramento Kings, and capped the regular season with a reputation for making the moment his own.
Then came the playoffs. In Game 5 against the Bucks, with the series on the line, Haliburton tied the game in regulation and then buried the game-winner in overtime with a fearless layup over Giannis Antetokounmpo.
If that wasn’t enough, he followed it up by stunning the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, drilling a game-winning three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to give the Pacers a 2-0 series lead, again on the road.
So let’s recap: 10 massive shots in late-game pressure scenarios. Three in the postseason. Seven in the regular season. And a shooting clip of 91% when the game is on the line. That’s not just elite. That’s legendary.
And yet, this is the same Tyrese Haliburton who was deemed “overrated” by his peers. This is the same point guard averaging 18.4 points, 10.7 assists, and 6.3 rebounds per game on 47.1% shooting from the field in the playoffs, despite a down year from three at 30.6%.
Overrated? The tape disagrees. The numbers disagree. And the bodies he’s left behind in crunch time definitely disagree.
How you like them apples now?
