“Shameful” Act of 13 NBA Players Frustrates Pacers Head Coach As Tyrese Haliburton Breaks Silence On Anonymous Poll

Last weekend’s playoffs opener was a bag of mixed emotions for Tyrese Haliburton. While the Pacers blew out the Bucks to protect home court and take a lead in the series, the point guard had a rather underwhelming outing. He shot 3 of 13 from the field and finished with only 10 points. That raised massive concerns about his readiness for the big stage. A couple of days later, Haliburton was voted the “most overrated player” in the league by his peers.

As per a survey conducted by The Athletic, ninety anonymous NBA players participated in the poll to hand out the infamous tag. A whopping 14.4% voted for Haliburton. The only other player in double-digit percentage was four-time DPOY Rudy Gobert, with 10% votes. Other big names, including LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, and Giannis Antetokounmpo were also on the list but with far lesser votes.

As expected, Rick Carlisle was not pleased with his superstar getting publicly disrespected. After tonight’s Game 2 win, the head coach called out the 13 anonymous players who deemed Haliburton ‘most overrated’ in a fuming rant, “I heard about this. The other guys on the list were Jimmy Butler and Giannis. I wanna see the guys’ faces that voted those guys. I wanna see the faces of those guys.” Then, he questioned the credibility of the survey, “This is a bulls— poll. Not everybody even answered in the poll. Guys were able to answer if they wanted to. They were asked on camera or with a microphone. The whole thing’s bulls—, okay. It’s really a shameful thing. Just a shameful thing.”

Yes, the survey had 158 participants spread across every team in the league. But only ninety chose to answer the ‘most overrated’ poll. Even then, 2.2% voted ‘no one who reached the NBA is overrated.’ Moreover, the stars who were deemed overrated have had massive impact this season, which Carlisle highlighted, “Jimmy Butler would be a finalist for MVP if he had gotten to Golden State a month and a half earlier. I mean what that guy has done and Giannis, are you kidding me? I’m done. Thankyou.”

Yes, Butler’s arrival single-handedly turned the Warriors to title contenders within a span of two months. Similarly, Giannis is one of the frontrunners to win MVP, averaging 30.4 points and nearly twelve rebounds. Does that sound overrated? While Carlisle was all riled up about the survey, Haliburton seemed unbothered by the unwanted tag.

Tyrese Haliburton claims he “could care less” about NBA players’ poll result after big Game 2 performance

Well, it looked like Haliburton came out with a mission tonight. Unlike his previous performance, he started Game 2 red hot and finished with a 21-point double-double. Sure enough, the Pacers won yet again, extending their lead before heading to Milwaukee. Many speculated that Tyrese’s performance was motivated by the result of the poll that deemed him overrated. However, the point guard made things clear during the post-game presser.

“It didn’t impact the way I played today at all. I must be doing something right you know if that’s the case. I don’t have a big speech or comment on it.” He remarked. Unbothered by the poll, Haliburton revealed what he truly cares about, “All I care about is this locker room and winning games and you know where I’m positioned to you know go to Milwaukee and continue this series on. Not too worried about that.” Yes, right now, his sole focus is on keeping his team’s title dream alive.

Moreover, he is letting his numbers do all the talking instead of reacting to anonymous players’ opinion. Since moving to Indiana, he has made the All-Star team twice and led the league in assists once. Even this season, he played a crucial role in the Pacers’ success, averaging 18.6 points and over nine assists.

So, Tyrese has complete faith in his talent despite what others say, “I know who I am. I am confident in my own skin and not worried about what anybody thinks. My teammates trust me, my front office, my coaching staff. So, I’m good. I could care less.” Who do you think is the most overrated player in the league, and why?