TJ McConnell on Tyrese Haliburton being called 'most overrated': 'One of the worst takes I've ever heard'

The Thunder only averaged 11.7 turnovers this season, the fewest of all 30 NBA teams. They’re only averaging 12.0 in the playoffs, third-fewest among the 16 qualifying teams. They terrorize your offense, but also succeed because of their ball security, beginning with Gilgeous-Alexander, who only averaged 2.4 turnovers this season, fewest among the NBA’s top-14 scorers. But that was a major problem in Game 3. Their offense was careless and scattered. Those three McConnell inbound steals counted for three of the Thunder’s 19 turnovers. In their previous 18 playoff games, they never committed more than 16. -via New York Times / June 12, 2025

Even though we’re just three games into the championship series, this felt like a game Indiana had to have at home if it was to have any chance of winning the franchise’s first NBA title. “I think in a series like this, what’s so important is the margins,” Haliburton said. “You have to win in the margins. It’s not necessarily who can make the most shots or anything. It’s taking care of the ball, rebounding, little things like that. I thought he does a great job of giving us energy plays consistently and getting downhill and operating. “I mean, nobody operates on the baseline like that guy. I thought he did a great job of consistently getting there and making hustle play after hustle play, and sticking with it, and I thought we did a great job of just feeding off of what he was doing.” -via New York Times / June 12, 2025

Scott Agness: Pacers beat the Thunder 116-107 for a 2-1 series lead. They still haven’t lost b2b games in three months — since March 10. Haliburton had 22-9-11, Mathurin scored 27 and TJM was superb. Pacers shot 51% and forced 19 turnovers. Game 4 on Fri. -via x.com / June 11, 2025

In some cases, players such as Haliburton opt to go with companies looking to reestablish themselves in the market like Puma, which has leaned into nostalgia with Clyde Frazier, the first NBA player with a signature shoe when the Puma Clyde was released in 1973, and is finding ways to connect with a new generation with LaMelo Ball. Haiburton’s playoff run couldn’t come at a better time for Puma. “I heard many rumblings through my last year with my previous brand around brands that potentially could be interested in me, and Puma was a name that always came up,” Haliburton told The Athletic. “I didn’t know how I felt about it until I met them (and) got to know them better. I feel really good about it.” -via New York Times / June 15, 2025

At the 2024 All-Star Game, Haliburton wore a long double-breasted Prada runway jacket that had shaggy blue fur around both of his biceps and his knees. Some online likened the blue fur to the Cookie Monster. “I think people just always fight things that they haven’t seen before or everybody just wants to fit in,” Haliburton told ESPN. “This is a world where if you try something different, everybody’s going to say something about it. I don’t dress like anybody else and I’m OK with that. “I think there’s a lot of people that are truly in the fashion world that would tell you that I dress very well and I believe I do. But for some people who really don’t know anything about fashion, it would be like he dresses terrible. I just do what I want to do at the end of the day. I’m not here to please anybody.” -via ESPN / June 14, 2025

But later in the period, when Haliburton once again called his own number and revisited his step-back 3-pointer against Thunder center Chet Holmgren, he wasn’t as lucky. This time, with the Pacers trailing 105-103 with just under two minutes left, the star guard air-balled a 27-footer that went off teammate Pascal Siakam and out of bounds. Indiana missed its next three shot attempts and only scored one point the rest of the night. “They went more to that small four-guard lineup that got us stagnant there, but I still think there’s a lot of areas for us to get better,” said Haliburton, who had a game-high seven assists but none in the final frame. “Felt like we got some good looks, just missed some good looks. So, again, (we’ll) watch film, see where we can get better. Guys will be ready to respond.” -via New York Times / June 14, 2025