Stephen A. Smith makes some bold remarks on Tyrese Haliburton after Pacers' Game 2 loss.
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith came up with a few bold remarks for the Indiana Pacers’ point guard, Tyrese Haliburton after their Game 2 loss in the NBA Finals 2025. After securing a last-second comeback victory in the series opener, Indiana couldn’t keep its momentum and suffered a heavy 123-107 fall against Oklahoma City Thunder in the second game. Haliburton, who has attained a legendary status with his stellar performance in the postseason, could add only 17 points.
In fact, he had only five points by the end of the third quarter, putting his superstar status in question. After the game, Smith talked about the 25-year-old’s performance and simply didn’t hold himself back. “When You mention somebody on that (superstar) level, it got to be bonafide. It can’t be a question mark or whatever,” said Smith on First Take.
He went on to add that while the Pacers’ star has the potential to be a superstar, his performance in Game 2 puts everything in question. Smith added, “Haliburton has that potential. But in the end, last night was emblematic of the criticism that he’s received because in losses and in games they’ve struggled. That’s what he looked like. Where you at? Where’s the jump shot? Where’s getting to the hole? Where’s the pull up jump shot? Where’s finishing up at the basket? Where’s pushing the ball in the open court? Where’s being in attack mode? Where’s that level of aggression?”
The veteran commentator and sports journalist is hesitant in calling Tyrese Haliburton a superstar. He said that Haliburton’s performance in clutch moments is very well visible, but one needs to look at the entire duration of 48 minutes. He said, “We know what he’s doing in clutch moments, I’m saying to you all I watch the entire 48 minutes.” Smith went on to say that when he judges someone as a superstar, he thinks about the load that the player is carrying.
The 57-year-old opined, “When I judge and I think about a superstar, I’m thinking about the number one option on a night in, night out basis that’s having to carry a certain load that others don’t normally carry. You think about {Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry}, the obligations that fall on their shoulders and the night-in, night-out level of production they exhibit comes into play.”
Smith added that there is no denying that Haliburton is a rising player, and can be trusted in the clutch moments. However, according to the NBA analyst, one thinks differently when they think of a superstar. He concluded by saying, “The brother’s a young rising star, and you know that when it’s clutch time, you could put the ball in his hands and say ‘yo, brother take us there’ and he’ll find a way… It’s just when you think of a superstar, you just think a little bit differently.”
Notably, in both games of the NBA Finals series, the two-time NBA All-Star has struggled for the first half. However, while he came up with a remarkable performance during the final seconds of Game 1, the Iowa alum failed to make a mark in Game 2, ultimately leading to the Pacers’ loss.
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