Tyrese Haliburton, even though he did not win the Eastern Conference Finals MVP Award, won over thousands of fans with his exceptional passing ability and three-level scoring as the Pacers rallied to the NBA Finals after beating the Knicks in Game 6. However, he is also the same player who, a few weeks ago, was voted as the most overrated player in the league by his colleagues.
Despite a stellar performance, he fell short in the MVP award race to Pascal Siakam due to media votes. But even before this snub, Draymond Green felt the NBA is sleeping on Haliburton, particularly his handles. Following Game 4 of the East Finals, Green went on his show to express his opinion about Haliburton, especially in the context of the number of times he gets wide-open shots because teams fail to pressurize the ball when it’s in his hand.
“It’s like they give him so much space and his shot takes a little time to load it up anyway, then they give him so much space….I’m telling you the reason they don’t pressure him like that, though, is Hali’s handle is very underrated. And sneaky and all them boys know at different points where they tried to press him [Impersonates a hesi-crossover]. He hit Mikal Bridges with one at the end of the game, the play where he got past, got to Mitchell Robinson, and ran back.”
“And so I think all of those guys also know that if they try to pressure he’ll bop their ass so fast and they know that. But it don’t look, if you’re watching the TV, it don’t look like his handle like that.”
“It’s like Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving, their ball handling starts when it appears to you that they’ve lost the basketball. Because you think they’ve lost it and they got it so crazy on the yo-yo, where as soon as you go to reach, you’re so out of position and they didn’t caught, and you’re so out of position that there’s no way you can catch up, Hali’s got some of that”
Green then brought up how Haliburton’s height helps him cover up for all that Irving and Curry need to do with their body movements.
“It’s very interesting to watch because looking at it on TV, it don’t look, it don’t appear that his handle is like that. When you’re playing his handle, it is it’s way tighter and nicer than it may appear. And I think those guys know that, that’s why they not pressuring him like that. But you got to, you can’t just, he too good to just let him see the court and pick you apart.”
Tyrese Haliburton averaged 20.5 points, 11.0 assists, and 4.0 rebounds in 2 games against the Warriors this season. The Pacers won both those games. Green played in one of those two games. He’s seen firsthand what Haliburton is capable of. Haliburton has averaged 18.8 points, 9.8 assists, and 5.7 rebounds in 16 games of the 2025 playoffs so far.
While Haliburton may not pass the eye test, his team’s results will certainly speak louder for him than his own words. As the leader of the Pacers, his performance will always be judged in parallel to the team’s success. If the Pacers win the NBA Finals, it will silence all the critics and even the colleagues who voted Haliburton as the most overrated player in the league.
