Tyrese Haliburton Sends Message To NBA Players Who Voted Him Most Overrated In The League

Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals following a 119-118 overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Haliburton hit the game-winner in Game 5 and put out a message on X after the game for the players who believe he is the most overrated player in the NBA.

"Overrate THAT."

Haliburton was referring to The Athletic's annual anonymous player poll there. A total of 158 individuals voted, and Haliburton was the most popular choice for the most overrated. The 25-year-old earned 14.4% of the vote to beat out Rudy Gobert for that unwanted distinction.

It was a bit surprising to see Haliburton top that list, though. You can understand in a way that Gobert was that high up, as he has won Defensive Player of the Year four times. Some players might think he didn't deserve it and consider him overrated.

Haliburton, however, has won no major award in his career. He has made the All-NBA Third Team once and is only a two-time All-Star.

Haliburton didn't even make the All-Star team this year. He was 13th in fan voting and 10th in player voting, while no one in the media even gave him a vote. He was then snubbed by the coaches as well when it came to picking the reserves.

So, who exactly is overrating Haliburton? It appears he might have just ruffled feathers around the league with his trash-talking to get all those votes. He has riled up Tim Hardaway Sr. to the point that the Hall of Famer has been engaging in a war of words with him over him talking so much trash.

Haliburton isn't going to change his ways, though. He's going to chirp, and the only way you're going to shut him down is by beating the Pacers. The Bucks failed miserably in that quest, losing 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs.

Haliburton struggled with his shot in the series but still put up good numbers. He averaged 17.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 11.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game against the Bucks.

It undoubtedly would have felt great for him to take down the Bucks and also hit that game-winner so soon after the results of that poll came out. Haliburton had previously stated he didn't care about being voted most overrated, but it would have stung. This was the perfect way to respond.

While Haliburton was in good spirits after Game 5, there was one matter that did upset him. His father, John, had a heated exchange with Giannis Antetokounmpo, and it was clear that the Bucks star wasn't in the wrong. Haliburton agreed that was the case as well, as he criticized his father for taunting Antetokounmpo.

That incident and another scuffle after Game 5 meant all the headlines weren't about how well the Pacers performed in this series. They completely outplayed the Bucks and are going to cause some headaches for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Semifinals.

The Cavaliers swept the Miami Heat in record-breaking fashion but will find it tougher to take down this Pacers team. Haliburton will have to be at his absolute best if the Pacers are to defy the odds and pull off a stunning upset, though. He shot just 42.1% from the field and 26.8% from three against the Bucks, and that's not going to be good enough against the Cavaliers.