ESPN analyst extends apology to Tyrese Haliburton

Perkins apoligizes to Haliburton

"Tyrese Haliburton, I'm sorry," Perkins said. "I was one of them that called him overrated two years ago and I would like to issue a public apology. Because young man, you are one of them."

Whether you like Perkins or not, you have to respect that he is unafraid of making bold claims and standing on them. Seeing him backpedal from his original comments is rare, but the Haliburton effect will do that to you.

After lighting up the Oklahoma City Thunder for 24 points in 18 minutes of preseason play on Tuesday night, the entire league was reminded just how special the face of the Pacers' franchise is.

Perkins believes Haliburton should be in the elite tier

Perkins took his apology one step further. He thinks Haliburton belongs in the elite conversation.

"When we start to talk about Luka (Doncic), Jalen Brunson and these types of dogs around the league, we have to mention this young man," Perkins said. "He led a team to the NBA Finals. This man is one of the best leaders in the game; he's a throwback guard --meaning an old traditional point guard that still can get buckets--, no one can question him in the clutch because he's proven that on the big stage."

Perkins then flipped the question back to his colleagues on the show. "We know who this young man is, can his team duplicate what he did two years ago?"

Can Pacers duplicate what they did in 2025?

Chiney Ogwumike was first to respond and had strong words about Haliburton.

"Don''t let that smile and the bouncy disposition fool you. Tyrese Haliburton is a killer," Ogwumike said. "He goes out there and wants to take and disrespect your game. The fact that he's coming into the season motivated is special. It looks like he wants to be better and that energy rubs off."

Bobby Marks followed up with one word to describe the Indiana Pacers: "Dangerous".

"They're dangerous enough to get out of the Eastern Conference. The numbers offensively cratered last year," Marks said of how drastically different the Pacers' numbers looked with and without Haliburton.

The Pacers ranked 9th in offensive rating and 3rd in field goal percentage with Haliburton healthy. Last year without him, they were 28th in offense in 26th in field goal percentage.

Can Zubac be a better fit than Turner?

Marks only question with the Pacers is how Ivica Zubac replaces Myles Turner in the Pacers fast-paced system.

Perkins and Ogwumike both agreed that Zubac was not only underrated but a top-ten center in the NBA. They praised his terrific performance Tuesday where he scored 13 points on 6-7 shooting, had 13 rebounds, 5 assists and was a +11 in 18 minutes.

After singing the Pacers' praises, Ogwumike questioned if Marks really believes the Pacers could come out of the East.

"I honestly believe they can get out of the Eastern Conference," Marks said.

Perkins agreed with Marks, but said they weren't his pick.

"I'm not picking them, but I wouldn't be surprised. That's how dangerous the Eastern Conference is," Perkins said. "My thing is, they snuck up on a lot of people, now you hear LeBron --one of the greatest to ever do it-- give you high-praise like that, there's no more sneaking up."

Final Thoughts

The entire segment felt like a fair assessment of where the Pacers are currently at. If everything works out the way many fans envision, this team is without question a title contender. However, they will have hurdles to jump and mountains to climb before they get there.

Seeing Haliburton return to the court in Oklahoma City and pick up right where he left off, even in a meaningless preseason game, was something special.

It served as a powerful reminder of just how talented he is and how dangerous this Pacers team can be when he's orchestrating the offense.

Haliburton has already earned the respect of most of his peers --after being voted the most overrated player in the NBA two seasons ago-- and if Tuesday night was any indication, he's ready to remind the rest of the basketball world just how special of a player he truly is.

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