Tyrese Haliburton was arguably the driving force of the Pacers upsetting the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. But when it came time to announce the winner of the Larry Bird Trophy, it wasn’t Hali’s name that was called.
Instead the award went to teammate Pascal Siakam, who averaged nearly 25 points per game in the series — including a 31-point performance to close things out in Game 6.
mvP.
Pascal Siakam has been named Eastern Conference Finals MVP and the recipient of the Larry Bird Trophy ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/GGH1C15YrN
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 1, 2025
Fans were quick to call the voters’ decision social media.
“HOW?” a user asked.
“Never at any point in this series did i go ‘wow pascal siakam is the best player on the floor right now,'” another said.
“How did Haliburton not win the ECF MVP? Absolutely robbed,” a fan replied.
“HALI SNUBBED,” another person exclaimed.
“Weird. Tyrese is the motor and his performances in game 1, 4, 6 were legendary,” another user commented.
“Shoulda been Tyrese,” another fan posted.
“Tyrese Haliburton (GOT Robbed) … WHOS PICKING THESE AWARDS 🤦🏽♂️”
“NBA eastern conference finals mvp voters be on str8 bs back to back years. Haliburton got robbed and deserved that [expletive]. Yall have one job and be blowing it,” a viewer claimed.
© Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
When it comes to Haliburton finishing second to Siakam, a lot of it likely has to do with his disappointing eight-point performance in Game 5 that saw him shoot just 29% from the field.
With that said, Siakam had a heck of a series and was clutch on both ends in key moments for the Pacers.
Indiana will need both of their stars to lead the way in the Finals though with the challenge OKC presents to its opponents. Game 1 takes place Thursday June 5 at 8:30 PM ET on ABC.
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