Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Rips Critics Over Ongoing Narratives

The Indiana Pacers continue shocking the NBA world with their playoff run, consistently proving their doubters wrong and pulling out victories from the jaws of defeat.

Tyrese Haliburton is the engine powering the team throughout the playoffs, hitting clutch shots, moving the basketball around, and playmaking for the rest of the team.

His impact tends to transcend the box score, typically getting double-teamed and hitting the open man with ease.

The player he passed the ball out to after the double tends to either score or make another pass as the defense scrambles.

He also keeps the ball moving around the court, makes passes that lead to fouls, and plays extremely unselfishly overall, an approach that Haliburton has brought to the entire team.

Despite his team's success, Haliburton remains a target for critics, who regularly go after the All-Star over shot form or his box score numbers, which has led to frustration from the Pacers star.

“It’s unorthodox,” Haliburton said on Saturday when speaking to reporters. "I think it's unorthodox, that's a word that can be easily used.

“My jumper, the way it looks. It ‘s always been criticized coming into the NBA. I think that I was honestly a big part of it and sometimes I have an effect on the game that isn’t necessarily the godly box score numbers.

"The way the game is digested by the fans sometimes. I think it’s a lot of boxscore watchers.

And so if my box score doesn't look the way that it's supposed to, I think that that could be a part of it as well. So I don't necessarily know the answer, but I know that it's probably not gonna stop anytime soon."

“The way the game is digested by the fans sometimes. I think it’s a lot of boxscore watchers.”

— Tyrese Haliburton

(h/t @BrettSiegelNBA)pic.twitter.com/w9WalYGRH2
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 8, 2025

While the naysayers continue to doubt and scrutinize Haliburton, he continues to deliver undeniable results.

If he manages to hoist the title and the Finals MVP, there will no argument against Haliburton being a top-tier player in the league.

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Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Admits He Took Draft Snub From East Rival Personally

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