Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Magic Johnson Has Clear Problem With Major NBA Award Announcement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Angelo Guinhawa | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 8:31 AM ET

After the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, forward Pascal Siakam was named the MVP of the series and claimed the Larry Bird Trophy.

Siakam beat Tyrese Haliburton by one vote to bag the ECF MVP trophy, 5-4. The one-time NBA champion finished the series averaging 24.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He was the Pacers' most consistent offensive force, putting up double-digits in all six games — including three 30-point outings.

Haliburton, meanwhile, put up 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 10.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He tallied a monster triple-double (32 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists with no turnovers) in Game 4, but he had an eight-point showing in Game 5.

Unfortunately for the All-Star guard, he also became the butt of jokes after he was caught on camera seemingly expecting to earn the recognition during the award ceremony following their win.

Despite the trolling and criticism on Haliburton, though, he also has plenty of supporters who firmly believe he should have won MVP in the conference finals. One of them is NBA icon Magic Johnson.

While promoting the upcoming NBA Finals matchup between Haliburton and Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Johnson said that he thought the Pacers playmaker deserved the honor.

"You have the NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and in my opinion, the MVP throughout the entire Western Conference Playoffs on one side. On the other side we have - Tyrese Haliburton, who in my opinion, was Eastern Conference MVP throughout the entire Playoffs," Johnson said. "This will be an all-time great point guard matchup!"

You have the NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and in my opinion, the MVP throughout the entire Western Conference Playoffs on one side. On the other side we have - Tyrese Haliburton, who in my opinion, was Eastern Conference MVP throughout the entire Playoffs. This will be an…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 3, 2025

For what it's worth, Tyrese Haliburton has been nothing but supportive of Pascal Siakam after securing their NBA Finals berth. He joined the "MVP" cheers for his teammate following their series-clinching victory in Game 6, and he showered him with praise in his media interview.

“When we brought him here, we had a vision,” Haliburton said of Siakam, per The Athletic. "We envisioned doing something like this, doing something special. It’s just really special that he’s been here.

"He’s been like a big brother for me, someone I can really trust, somebody that I can really lean on and talk to, and just somebody who can always keep me steady."

With the 2025 NBA Finals set to kick off on Thursday, it will surely be interesting to see if Haliburton will be able to lead the Pacers to victory again. If he does, maybe he'll win NBA Finals MVP instead.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: