Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell did not hold back when asked about the growing criticism surrounding teammate Tyrese Haliburton.
Speaking on SiriusXM NBA Radio, McConnell directly addressed the anonymous player poll that voted Haliburton as the league’s most overrated player.
“The whole overrated thing, I still can’t wrap my mind around it,” McConnell said. “It’s one of the worst takes I’ve ever heard in my life. The guy is the furthest thing from overrated.”
McConnell, now in his tenth NBA season, emphasized Haliburton’s impact both on and off the floor.
“He’s an incredible teammate,” McConnell added. “He’s shown the whole world throughout these playoffs what kind of player we see on a daily basis.”
Haliburton, who averaged 18.6 points and 9.2 assists during the regular season, has mirrored those numbers in the playoffs while increasing his rebounding to 5.8 per game.
Indiana entered the Finals as the Eastern Conference’s fourth seed and has leaned heavily on its All-Star guard throughout the postseason.
According to McConnell, outside opinions fail to capture Haliburton’s value to the franchise.
“People don’t know what kind of person and teammate he is,” he said. “So when someone says stuff like that about our franchise guy, you want to go to battle for him every single day.”
Haliburton scored 18 points in Indiana’s 111-104 Game 4 loss to Oklahoma City on Friday, as the Thunder tied the series 2-2.
Despite the defeat, McConnell praised Haliburton’s focus amid media noise.
“He’s done a great job of blocking out all that noise and just focusing on our team — and that’s who Ty is,” McConnell said.
Indiana will now travel back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Monday night, with both teams seeking a pivotal win in a tied series.
Historically, teams that win Game 5 in a 2-2 NBA Finals go on to capture the championship 73% of the time.
