Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton makes Third-Team All-NBA, earns larger contract via rookie-scale extension

Haliburton has been recognized for his terrific season

Apr 1, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates a made basket in the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON — Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton has been named to the 2024 All-NBA Third Team, cementing his 2023-24 season as one of the best in the league. All-NBA teams are now positionless, so voters determined that Haliburton was one of the league's 15 best players this season.

Haliburton earned his spot on the third team thanks to his offensive brilliance. He finished the season with averages of 20.1 points and 10.9 assists per game while shooting 47.7% from the field and 36.4% from deep. The star guard led the league in assists per game by more than one assist, and he topped everyone in total assists (752) despite missing 13 games.

As a result, he's been recognized with a spot on a 2024 All-NBA team. He is the first Pacers player to make one of the squads since Victor Oladipo in 2017-18.

"That'd be cool. Not going to lie," Haliburton said of possibly making All-NBA earlier in the day on Wednesday. "I think it's just the fruits of my labor. It would be cool to see that appreciation shown to my game."

Haliburton's stats speak for themselves, and prior to his hamstring injury in January they were even better. In his first 32 games of the season, the 24-year old averaged 24.2 points and 12.7 assists per game while shooting better than 40% from long range. A combination of a minutes per game change, trades, and the injury hurt his numbers across his final 37 games, but he still had a terrific season.

Haliburton's 2023-24 came with accolades and high moments. The first two were paired. Haliburton guided Indiana through the In-Season Tournament, an event in which they took down all challengers until the title game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Haliburton was the star of it all — it was effectively his coming out party. At the conclusion of the finals, he was named to the All-Tournament Team.

His sensational play continued, and in early January he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. He's one of only two Pacers players to accomplish that feat since 2020, and that was just before his injury. He was considered one of the top players in the league around that time.

"He's very unselfish. Makes a lot of good plays," New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Haliburton around that time. Indiana had just toppled New York a few days earlier, and Haliburton had 22 points and a whopping 23 assists in that game. That was when the star guard made history. He tied the Pacers franchise record for assists in one game and became the third player ever to record consecutive games with 20+ points and 20+ assists.

The aforementioned injury limited Haliburton's production for the rest of January, but late in that month he was named a 2023-24 NBA All-Star. It was his second All-Star appearance, and he was the face of the NBA with the events being held in Indianapolis. He scored 32 points in the All-Star game.

"It means the world. It means the world. I think the respect that I've gained from my peers and legends means the world to me," Haliburton said of getting major respect from NBA figures during All-Star weekend. "Just to keep meeting people, where I'm from, that's not really a thing. There's no chance that they even know where Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is. So it means the world to me. I just want to continue to keep doing what I'm doing and gaining people's respect."

Now, he'll gain even more respect with his All-NBA honor. He guided the Pacers to a 47-35 record, and they won their first two playoff series thanks to Haliburton's strong play. Currently, he has the team battling in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Joining Haliburton on the third All-NBA team is Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Domantas Sabonis. The first team consists of Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jayson Tatum. The second team is composed of Jalen Brunson, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, and Kevin Durant.

"I have no doubt that he's going to be All-NBA. I'd be surprised if he wasn't first or second-team," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said earlier in the day on Wednesday. "I expect him to be All-NBA, and he absolutely deserves it."

Haliburton is the sixth Pacers player to make an All-NBA team, joining Reggie Miller, Jermaine O'Neal, Metta World Peace, Paul George, and Victor Oladipo. He is starting to build his resume as one of the most talented players to don the blue and gold.

By making All-NBA this season, Haliburton will make more money on his next contract. In Rookie Scale Extension discussions with the Pacers, the team and Haliburton agreed on a structure that would have Haliburton's contract start at 30% of the salary cap beginning in 2024-25 if he made any of the three All-NBA teams this season. It would have started at 25% otherwise. Given the NBA's current salary cap projection of $141 million next season, Haliburton's next contract would start at $42.3 million and, due to 8% raises off of that number, would reach a total five-year value of $245.34 million.

"Obviously, we know the financial benefit for me," Haliburton said Wednesday.

Having a 24-year old All-NBA under contract for five more seasons is great for the Pacers. Receiving a raise for terrific play is great for Haliburton. Everyone is happy with the agreement, and the star guard now goes into the history books for his terrific season.

Haliburton will hope to build off of this in future campaigns and reach the second or first All-NBA team, which Carlisle already thinks he deserves. That's a consideration for the future. For now, Haliburton has been recognized as one of the league's 15 best players, and he will try to keep proving it in the Eastern Conference Finals.

---

• Historic offensive night for Indiana Pacers leads to historic Game 7 win over New York Knicks. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics Eastern Conference Finals series schedule. CLICK HERE.
• With the Indiana Pacers facing elimination, Pascal Siakam delivered a masterpiece. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers can't overcome turnovers and lose Conference Finals Game 1 to Boston Celtics. CLICK HERE.
• Follow AllPacers on Facebook: All Pacers SI
• Follow AllPacers on Twitter: @SIPacers