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Considering how slowly Tyrese Haliburton started the 2024-25 season, it's a borderline miracle that he and the Indiana Pacers have made it all the way to the 2025 NBA Finals.
Haliburton was coming off a banner year in 2024, having broken out in the postseason after pushing the Boston Celtics to a highly competitive series despite being swept, and he was the perfect locker room guy to have for Team USA in their run to the gold medal in the Paris Olympics. But then he was so lackluster to begin the year that the Pacers couldn't seem to get anything going, beginning the season with a 10-15 record before turning things around en route to finishing 50-32, good for fourth in the East.
The second coming of the Point God, just 25 years old, appeared to hit a snag in his superstar trajectory but recovered it towards the end of the season. And all playoffs long, Haliburton has built off of that momentum, cementing himself as one of the most selfless superstars in the league and as a true winning player who elevates his teammates and gets the best out of them in the grand postseason stage.
Alas, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be unlike any beast he and the Pacers have seen in this year's playoffs. They have the pace to compete with the Pacers' run and gun style, and they have the defense to stifle them in the halfcourt. Haliburton relies so much on the pick-and-roll to create offense for his team that he may end up playing right into the Thunder defense's hands, what with their army of long-limbed defenders ready to swallow any perimeter star whole.
Nonetheless, here are some bold predictions for how Haliburton will perform in the 2025 NBA Finals.
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Tyrese Haliburton drops another 30-point triple double with no turnovers
If there's anything the Pacers have to be wary of in their upcoming series against the Thunder, it's OKC's elite defense that forces turnovers at such a historic rate. The Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves could not live to tell the tale of just how suffocating the Thunder's defense actually is and how it forces teams to execute at near perfect levels just to get a shot at a win.
But if there's anything that Haliburton brings to the table, it's the ability to execute at a near-perfect level. He's the heir apparent to Chris Paul's “Point God” moniker for a reason, as he can rack up huge assist numbers without it coming at the cost of reckless play with the ball. Haliburton also doesn't tend to play a heliocentric brand of basketball, which means that the ball doesn't stick to one man for an inordinate period of time and there is more offensive flow as a result.
It's a bit scary, of course, that Haliburton will have to face defenders such as Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, and Cason Wallace, just to name a few. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams can clamp up as well, while Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein are two of the best paint protectors in the association.
Unlike in the Knicks series, Haliburton won't have as many weak spots to attack. But Haliburton has shown that he has another gear in reserve against the best opposition. He was so good in Game 4 of the Pacers-Knicks series when he dropped 32 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists without turning the ball over that it becomes so difficult to stop him when he manages to solve the opposing team's coverages.
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It may not happen in Game 1 against the Thunder, as the defense of OKC and New York have a night and day difference in quality and Haliburton will have to acclimate to that difference. But once he gets into the swing of things, expect him to have another one of those masterclasses to fuel the Pacers' continued push for the title.
The Pacers star scores at least 20 points in every game of the series
If Haliburton can get the Pacers the victory without scoring the ball, he would. He's that kind of player. He would much rather see his teammates thrive for the greater good of the team instead of chasing personal gain. He himself has said in the past that he's content with being the team's “good mom” –– making sure that all of his teammates are well-fed.
But there's no denying just how impactful Haliburton is for the Pacers when he's more aggressive in hunting his shot. Haliburton's instinct is to make the right play every single time, but as the best player of his team, he will have to be more proactive in creating offense for himself.
Now, some would argue that Haliburton will not be able to do this against a Thunder defense that's geared to stop dribble penetration as well as cover as much ground as possible to prevent easy shots from anywhere on the court. Caruso, in particular, has been a menace throughout the playoffs, hounding everyone from Ja Morant to Nikola Jokic to Anthony Edwards.
Haliburton's shot mechanics sometimes make it difficult for him to get off a clean shot at the basket, and the Thunder will do as good of a job as any in getting him off his comfort zone. But the Pacers have a golden opportunity to win the title, coming as close as they have since 2000, and Haliburton will have to be more aggressive — because when he is, good things tend to happen for them.
This season, the Pacers have won 32 of the 36 games in which Haliburton has scored 20 or more points. In the playoffs, they've gone 7-1 — with their only loss coming in Game 3 of the Knicks series, a game they should have won in the first place.
Make no mistake about it, Haliburton only scoring in 20 points or more 36 times this season (out of a total of 98 Pacers games) makes it very unlikely for him to crack this scoring mark in every game of the upcoming NBA Finals. But for the Pacers to have a shot at the title, miracles will have to happen as they come up against one of the best teams in league history.
