During the first round of the NBA playoffs, The Athletic dropped its annual anonymous player poll. A mere few hours before the Indiana Pacers’ Game 2 against the Milwaukee Bucks, one result set the NBA alight — several players voted Tyrese Haliburton the NBA’s “Most Overrated Player.”
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To be more precise, out of 90 total ballots, 14.4% — only 13 players out of 450 — singled out Haliburton, but that was still enough to earn the number one spot.
Undeterred, Haliburton blocked out the noise and torched the Bucks anyway. The guard posted 17.6 points, 11.6 assists and 6.4 rebounds as Indiana crushed Milwaukee in five games. After the closeout, Haliburton posted to celebrate, saying: “Overrate THAT.”
With the 2025 NBA Finals tied 2-2 and Game 5 on deck, TJ McConnell did not hold back. He joined Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson on SiriusXM NBA Radio and let it be known his thoughts about Haliburton’s “Overrated” tag.
“[It’s] certainly unfair,” McConnell said of the ‘Overrated’ tag. “The whole overrated thing, I still can’t wrap my mind around it…. It’s one of the worst takes I’ve ever heard in my life, [He] is the furthest thing from overrated. He showed the world, throughout these playoffs, what kind of player we see on a daily basis.”
Haliburton didn’t just beat Milwaukee — he ran through the rest of the East too. The Pacers smoked the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, during which the floor general averaging 17.4 points, 7.0 assists and 4.6 rebounds with a memorable game winning three.
Then came the New York Knicks. Haliburton scorched them, averaging a double double. He ripped through Madison Square Garden in six games and hit Reggie Miller’s legendary “Choke” taunt to make things worse for the Knicks faithful, leaving everyone in the Garden stunned.
Now, he is staring down the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals. The Indiana Pacers were not supposed to be competitive. Pundits and fans alike called for a sweep. Some gave them only one win. Four games in, Haliburton and the Pacers are still firmly in the fight.
McConnell is not known for chasing news headlines. But when asked about the disrespect that critics have brandished Haliburton with, he charged straight into the fire. He didn’t spin the truth — he was just honest.
The Pacers have thus far crushed two higher seeds, but they still have not silenced haters. Regardless, they have rallied around their guy. “He showed the world, throughout these playoffs, what kind of player we see on a daily basis,” McConnell said.
The 2025 NBA Finals roll into Game 5 tied 2-2. Indiana needs two more wins to finish the job. But as long as Haliburton keeps cooking, he won’t have to face ‘overrated’ labels for a long, long time.
