5 players who deserve to be first time NBA All-Stars in 2023
2. G Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
The search for an heir apparent to the Point God may already be over. Tyrese Haliburton is ascending at a rapid rate with the Indiana Pacers, already becoming one of the most exciting guard prospects in the NBA.
Haliburton was the big prize in the swap last year that landed the Sacramento Kings Domantas Sabonis. Both teams are playing above their perceived talent level this season, but the way Haliburton is playing, it may soon become obvious who won that trade.
Haliburton is averaging a double-double during his first full season in Indiana. The former All-Rookie performer is averaging 19.5 points and 10.7 assists per game, the latter of which leads the league; he recently became the first player to hit 300 assists this year.
While he hasn’t replicated his 41.4 percent proficiency from three from a year ago, Haliburton has shown little hesitancy in chucking it up from three and hitting at a solid rate. He’s knocked down 38.6 percent of his threes this season, which would somehow be the worst percentage of his career.
On the defensive end, meanwhile, Haliburton remains an issue for opposing passers and ball handlers, averaging 1.7 steals per game. If he keeps his current position, it will be the second straight year of finishing in the top five in steals per game.
In addition to assists and assists per game, Haliburton is logically leading the league in assist percentage as well. But he’s also among the league leaders in a plethora of advanced statistics: PER, win shares, win shares per 48 minutes, box plus/minus, offensive rating, VORP … the list goes on.
While Haliburton isn’t local to Indiana per se, he’s a Midwest guy at heart. He grew up in Wisconsin and played his college ball at Iowa State. Indiana just seems like a better fit for his career than Sacramento was.
Whether or not Haliburton becomes the next long-term Pacers star remains to be seen – as mentioned, this is his first full season with the franchise. But there’s no question he deserves to be an All-Star this February.