Reputation is a fragile currency in the NBA, easily spent by critics and slowly earned back by greatness. Tyrese Haliburton knows this all too well. Labeled the most overrated player in The Athletic’s 2024-25 survey, he could have folded. Instead, he’s torching that narrative with every playoff minute. With poise, vision, and heart, he’s dragging Indiana toward glory. The doubters laughed. Now, they watch. And Haliburton? He’s quietly chasing Reggie Miller’s throne one clutch game at a time.

That being said, Hali began the current NBA season with a rough stretch. Moreover, the pressure of being the face of the franchise… well, you know how it is. Who truly thought that after a lackluster start, Haliburton would rise from the ashes? Even when LeBron James’s Netflix project, Starting 5, announced Haliburton for the second season, most people showed little interest. Now, ‘Starting 5 Season 2 featuring Tyrese Haliburton’ would fly off the shelves like hot cakes.

Meanwhile, Austin Rivers gave a tough verdict on Season 1 of the docu-series. “Netflix is following Haliburton on the Starting 5. Haliburton literally went from being the most least interesting character in that,” the former hooper said on his podcast Off Guard with Austin Rivers. “Well, it was going to be a bad season. It was going to be bad. Cause I remember they announced the new five for the Netflix show. I didn’t watch the first season, to be completely honest. Cause I thought it was garbage.” 

Perhaps, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Antman, Jimmy Butler, and Domantas Sabonis’s NBA and Olympics stories weren’t enthralling enough for Rivers. After all, this was not the version of James that had the entire NBA trembling. And while the damage may have been done, Season 2 is set to be very different.

The second season, which will feature Haliburton, will surely show his 2024-25 season. And that may be worth every dime. You know why? This is the story of the rise of a superstar in the making. This is the story of a clutch player you’ve never seen before. So much so that his records are surpassing the King and Michael Jordan as well.

Amidst Netflix fame, Tyrese Haliburton’s reputation gets an important push

Tyrese Haliburton is burying the “overrated” tag one clutch shot at a time. From cold-blooded buzzer-beaters to fearless game-winners, he has turned this postseason into his personal statement tour. Call it luck if you must, but the spark is real. His confidence is contagious, his timing impeccable. And now, with the Pacers leading the Finals against the Thunder, Haliburton is not just proving critics wrong. He’s making them eat their words with every possession.

Meanwhile, Austin Rivers added what he thought after Netflix’s Haliburton announcement. He shared, “I was like—mind you, he was having a really rough year. So everybody’s just like, nobody wants to watch this dude, this corny a– m———–. Like, cause people don’t like him. People think he’s very corny. And he has changed and morphed into must-see TV and has been the name of the NBA playoffs. And they’re in the finals.”

Through 73 games this season, Tyrese Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and shot 47.3 percent from the field. At first glance, some might dismiss these as modest numbers. However, trust the Basketball Gods—these stats barely scratch the surface of his clutch brilliance. In fact, Haliburton achieved in one postseason what took Michael Jordan an entire career and what LeBron James has yet to do. Specifically, he delivered four tie-or-go-ahead daggers in the final three seconds across four separate rounds. Ultimately, that’s not just clutch—it’s a complete rewrite of greatness, where the buzzer sounds more like a siren of destiny.

Therefore, greatness rarely announces itself with fireworks. Sometimes, it walks in wearing doubt like armor. Tyrese Haliburton took every insult, every shrug, and turned it into fuel. And while Austin Rivers’s disregard for LeBron James’s Starting 5 season 1 is loud and clear, his hopes for Season 2 make perfect sense. Moreover, from ‘most overrated’ to the most dangerous man in the playoffs, the Pacers star has made everyone watch. Now, with a Finals run in full swing, Haliburton isn’t chasing LeBron or Jordan. He’s crafting a legacy that dares to rival theirs.