When The Athletic anonymously asked 90 players around the NBA which player is the most overrated in the league, no one received more votes (13) than Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. Asked about those poll results after The Athletic published them on Tuesday, Haliburton made it clear he wasn’t fazed.
“I must be doing something right if that’s the case,” the Pacers star said, per James Boyd of The Athletic. “I don’t have a big speech or comment on it. All I care about is this locker room and winning games, and we’re in position to go to Milwaukee and continue this series on. … I know who I am. I’m confident in my own skin and not worried what anybody thinks.”
Although Haliburton was the top vote-getter in the poll, a total of 33 players earned at least one vote, with 19 players named multiple times. Rudy Gobert and Trae Young finished second and third behind Haliburton, followed by Jimmy Butler in fourth. Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James were among the others who received multiple votes.
When he was asked about Haliburton’s spot atop the list, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle denounced the results more strongly than his starting point guard did, interrupting Boyd before he had finished his question.
“I heard about this and the other guys on the list were Jimmy Butler and Giannis,” Carlisle said (Twitter video link via iPacers.com). “I want to see the guys’ faces that voted those guys. … This is a bull—t poll. Not everybody even answered in the poll. Guys were able to answer if they wanted to. They were asked on camera or with a microphone. The whole thing’s bull—t, OK? And it’s really a shameful thing.
“Jimmy Butler would be a finalist for MVP if he had gotten to Golden State a month and a half earlier (with) what that guy’s done. And Giannis? Are you kidding me?”
Haliburton has done all he can in the first two games of the Pacers’ first-round series to prove the “overrated” label is erroneous. He handed out 12 assists and was a +27 in a Game 1 win on Saturday over the Bucks, then led his team to a Game 2 victory on Tuesday with 21 points and another dozen assists.
Haliburton has also gotten into it with opposing point guard Damian Lillard in both games, first when Lillard was on the bench in Game 1 and then when the two players were on the court in Game 2.
As Stephen Holder of ESPN relays, the Pacers guard downplayed those altercations as two “competitors” going at it in a playoff atmosphere. However, Haliburton didn’t deny the fact that there’s some animosity between the two Central Division teams, who have now faced each other in 17 regular season and playoff games since the start of the 2023/24 season.
“We don’t have to sit here and act like it’s any secret,” he said after Tuesday’s win. “We don’t like them, they don’t like us and that’s just what it is. And I think they live for this, we live for this, so I could (not) care less. I’m out here just trying to help my team win a game.”
Haliburton said he expects the rest of the series to maintain the same intensity level.
“Everybody says the league rivalries aren’t here anymore,” he said. “Well, it’s right here. So, this is an interesting series. We’ve played each other, it feels like, a million times over the last two years. I’ve seen every different coverage that they could throw at us. And I feel like those guys probably feel the same way about us. But there’s still a lot of series, you’ve got a lot of games to play. So, I’m sure there’ll be more heated moments, more competitive moments.”
Who is overrating him? He was way underrated in the draft anx since then only seems to get talked about when he’s playing well. I barely heard about him this year. Strange…
Many of these NBA players just claims players they don’t like. Over rated is players that don’t make it to the playoffs with other stars on the team. My list would be different. Some players have big stats playing on bad teams then goes to a good team and they look lost on the court
My list would be different too. Guess Carlisle made my point already. This isnt a list of overrated players its just “least popular” for some reason. Same with Gobert — who is overrating him? Think he does what is expected and geta criticized/rated all the time when he isnt playing well.
Just makes me sick to see polls focused on negativity. Support your teammates, your league mates. Professional basketball is not a right, it’s a privilege. It only exists because companies want to sponsor/subsidize it.
But you are assuming that your definition of overrated is the same definition that these 158 players are using when polled.
Probably the players that were butt hurt that he got a spot on the USA Olympic team and his Olympic teammates wanted him on there and he got picked early for that team
My only problem with Haliburton is being inconsistent on offense. He is one of the better 2 way players in the NBA. problem with these list is that some players get picked for personal reason not because they are over rated. Yes there are some players that were jealous he got picked for team USA.
Why did they only ask 90 players, and which 90 did they ask?
So 14.4% of those 90 players voted him most overrated – considering he led the Pacers to 50 wins and has 24 ast to only 4 TOs in a 2-0 1st rd playoff series, he’s doing fine.
They talked to 158 players in total. Sounds like a good chunk of them opted out of answering that question.
Weak @$$ fake tough loser bucks , chirp too much
Cavs better watch out. Indy is coming for them
I’d be more curious to know why. Lack of defense? Efficiency?
Seems to me those 90 players. Are really saying. They aren’t worth the money. I should be getting payed too.