Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton met the 65-game criteria on Friday against Oklahoma City, making him eligible for postseason awards, such as All-NBA.
Counting the in-season tournament final, it was technically Haliburton’s 66th game, but the one on January 8 — when he sustained a hamstring injury against Boston — didn’t count toward the 65-game rule because he played fewer than 15 minutes.
It’s a noteworthy benchmark for both Haliburton and Indiana, which gave the 24-year-old a five-year, rookie scale max extension last summer. That deal, which begins in 2024/25, features Rose rule language — if he makes one of the three All-NBA teams, he’ll earn 30% of next season’s salary cap instead of 25%.
Haliburton’s extension is currently projected to be worth $204.5MM over five years. If he makes an All-NBA team, the projection would increase to $245.3MM.
As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes, Haliburton has a legitimate shot at All-NBA, with averages of 20.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, a league-best 11.0 APG, and 1.2 SPG on .476/.368/.861 shooting through 64 games (32.2 MPG). He holds the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA at 4.85-to-1, and is the best player on a team that is currently the No. 6 seed in the East at 44-34.
At one point, it seemed like the Haliburton would be a shoo-in for All-NBA, as he was averaging 24.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 12.7 APG on .496/.404/.868 shooting in 32 games prior to the injury. While he’s played better recently, his post-injury numbers aren’t on the same level, with averages of 17.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 9.4 APG on .449/.324/.850 shooting in 31 games.
In addition to facing stiff competition amongst his backcourt peers, 2023/24 is the first season that All-NBA teams will be voted on without regard to position, Dopirak notes. It remains to be seen whether that will impact Haliburton’s case.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Heat center Bam Adebayo and Magic guard Jalen Suggs also met the 65-game criteria on Friday.
A three-time All-Star who has finished fourth or fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting each of the past four seasons, Adebayo would be eligible for a super-max extension if he makes an All-NBA team or wins DPOY, though both scenarios seem fairly unlikely.
Suggs is a strong perimeter defender, though he won’t be financially impacted — at least not by CBA rules — even if he makes one of the two All-Defensive teams. The No. 5 pick of the 2021 draft will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.
Probably still done enough to make 3rd team.
you really going to put out an article each time a star player plays the games on their regular season schedule. groundbreaking.
Not every star player — just instances where it’s notable. Haliburton and Adebayo are two of the players whose earnings could be affected significantly by whether they earn awards this season.
the whole concept is ridiculous, this rest management stuff and acting like these players need a pat on the back. all created by these lazy inner city kids with no expectations at home.
they feel bad for thugs like isiah thomas (the fake one) like his life is so hard, they just want applause us for wanting to give people money. if you leave a comment saying a guy deserves more money from the franchise, everyone will applaud! so wholesome lol
and i love both of these players. but acting like these guys always need a bigger check just to actually play in the games is so dumb, but if you don’t want to give random dudes in the nba hundreds of millions of dollars you’re just a mean person lol
these players play hard and they’re franchises are doing it right it’s players like lebron who get coddled by the league who make it a joke. at least kawai plays hard and plays D but guys like lillard lebron straight coddled
I hope the rest of your day is as nice as you are