Pat McAfee Makes Bold Statement About Slow Start for Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton

Jeremy Hanna | Dec 4, 2024

ESPN College Game Day's Pat McAfee high-fives fans as he takes the field before the game between Michigan and Texas at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, September 7, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Point guard Tyrese Haliburton was easily the Indiana Pacers' star player last season, leading the team to the Easter Conference finals while averaging 20.1 points, a league-leading 10.9 assists, 3.9 total rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game.

This cemented him as an NBA All-Star as well as third team All-NBA. However, Haliburton didn't seem to be the same player at the beginning of the 2024-25 NBA Season.

In the first 16 games, Haliburton only averaged 15.5 points, 8.5 assists, 3.4 total rebounds, and 1.2 steals. While this is still enough to cement him as a starter, it's far off of the output that is expected of the Olympic gold medalist.

Fortunately, it looks like Haliburton is bouncing back in a major way.

Haliburton's return to form was most evident in Indiana's recent games against the New Orleans Pelicans and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Against New Orleans, Haliburton recorded 34 points, 13 assists, three total rebounds, and three steals. Against Portland, he had 28 points, 10 assists, seven total rebounds, and two steals.

This was enough for popular sports personality and Indiana legend Pat McAfee to declare that Haliburton was officially back after the Pacers' win over the Trail Blazers.

Uhhh yeah… I’m thinking he’s back https://t.co/leap1bmn8L

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 28, 2024

Other than a particularly brutal game against the Memphis Grizzlies where he only recorded eight points and seven assists, Haliburton has recently been performing as the point guard we all know and love.

In his last six games, Haliburton averaged 23.3 points, 8.3 assists, 3.5 total rebounds, and 1.5 steals. This inculded two double-doubles and two games where he made 30+ points.

This has once again cemented Haliburton as the leader of the Pacers.

A standout player from Iowa State, Haliburton has been playing with Indiana since he was traded from the Sacramento Kings in his second season alongside Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson in exchange for Domantas Sabonins, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, and a 2023 second-round pick.

Haliburton immediately made an impact on the Pacers, averaging 17.5 points, 9.6 assists, 4.3 total rebounds, and 1.8 steals in his first 26 games with Indiana.

In his full career with the Pacers, Haliburton has averaged 19.6 points, 10.2 assists, 3.8 total rebounds, and 1.3 steals. In both of the full seasons he played, he was named an NBA All-Star.

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