In a player poll conducted by The Athletic, 90 players voted Tyrese Haliburton as the NBA’s most overrated player.
Haliburton secured 14.4 percent of the vote while Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert finished second with 10 percent of the vote. Trae Young was third with 8.9 percent of the vote.
The Athletic conducts an annual anonymous player poll that ranges from voting for MVP, this season’s championship winner, who will be the face of the league five years from now, and league’s most underrated player, among other categories.
It’s worth keeping in mind that a vote involving 90 players accounts for only one-fifth of the 450 full-time players in the league.
Is Haliburton Really Overrated?
What’s most interesting about this vote is that Haliburton only just ascended to stardom last season.
He impressed in 2022-23 with 20.7 points and 10.4 assists while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. He also shot 40 percent from three and 87.1 percent from the foul line. Because the Pacers only finished with 35 wins, he didn’t get as much attention.
Indiana’s star point guard has maintained that level both last season and this, while helping the Pacers win at a high level, too. Indiana reached the final of the In-Season Tournament last year as well as the Eastern Conference Finals.
This season, they clinched the fourth seed with a 50-win season and are favorites against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
Other Results Of Player Vote
Everyone wants to have an opinion on this year’s MVP and the players are no different. 155 players voted in this poll, 56.1 percent electing in favor of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was second with 37.4 percent of the vote.
The Boston Celtics were voted as most likely to win the title with 57.7 percent of the vote. They were followed by the Thunder (17.5 percent) and Cleveland Cavaliers (10.2 percent).
Victor Wembanyama secured 54.3 percent of the vote as most likely to be the face of the league five years from now. He was followed by Anthony Edwards (13.8 percent), and Gilgeous-Alexander (10.9 percent).
While Haliburton was voted most overrated, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham was considered most underrated. He was followed by Boston Celtics guard Derrick White and the L.A. Clippers’ Norman Powell.
In perhaps the most fun poll, Indiana Pacers forward James Johnson was voted as the player who someone would least like to fight. He took home 63.1 percent of the vote followed by Isaiah Stewart (13.5 percent) and Steven Adams (11.3 percent).
