Why Wasn't Pacers Star Tyrese Haliburton an All-Star This Season?

The Pacers guard was an All-NBA performer last year, so why didn't he even make the All-Star team this year?

Feb 12, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates on court against the Washington Wizards in the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers will have one player in the All-Star game this year. It's not the player everyone thought it was going to be when the season started.

Pascal Siakam is the representative from the Pacers. When you look at his play, it makes sense. He has been the most consistent player for the team this year.

So far this season, Siakam is averaging 20.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and a career-high 40.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Those numbers are certainly worthy of being selected to the All-Star game. It's not a surprise at all, and it's the first time Siakam is an All-Star as a member of the Pacers.

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What is a surprise is that Tyrese Haliburton didn't make the All-Star game. Why didn't he make it? Isn't he a good enough player to be on the team?

To put it simply, he just hasn't played well enough this season. Virtually every number is down from what it was last year when Haliburton was a Third-team All-NBA selection that allowed him to sign a supermax contract extension.

Part of that is because Siakam has played so well offensively, so his numbers are taking away from Haliburton. But they shouldn't be taking away from him that much.

Siakam playing for the Pacers all year doesn't have any bearing on Haliburton's shooting percentage. In fact, you could argue that Haliburton's percentage should be up from last year now that teams can't just focus on him.

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There's no question that Haliburton has been less aggressive this season, specifically driving the ball to the hoop. His numbers driving to the basket are alarming.

Last season, before the All-Star break, Haliburton attempted 162 shots inside five feet of the hoop and shot 64 percent on those shots. This season, despite shooting almost 70 percent on the same type of shots, he has attempted just 103 shots inside five feet.

The lack of his aggressiveness driving to the hoop has hurt his overall shooting percentage and the Pacers' success. He needs to be attempting more layups and dunks.

Haliburton is averaging 17.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game.

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