Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder may have prevented Tyrese Haliburton and his Indiana Pacers from winning the NBA Finals, but Haliburton is still very impressed by the reigning MVP and loves how he plays the game.
Speaking to the “Pat McAfee Show,” Haliburton had huge praise for Gilgeous-Alexander.
“[Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] is the MVP for a reason and he put together one of the greatest seasons in NBA history. He gets to his spots and he scores at all three levels,” Haliburton said, via Legion Hoops.
Tyrese Haliburton with high praise for SGA:
“SGA is the MVP for a reason and he put together one of the greatest seasons in NBA history. He gets to his spots and he scores at all three levels.”
Respect.🤝
(via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/zE1wbxQu5w
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 23, 2025
Haliburton is right: Gilgeous-Alexander just had one of the best seasons of all time.
He led the league in points, earned MVP, Western Conference Finals MVP, and Finals MVP.
On top of all that, he won a title, of course.
In short, Gilgeous-Alexander did it all in 2024-25 and now everyone is waiting to see what he and his team can achieve in the season ahead.
As for Haliburton, he’ll sadly be on the sidelines for the new year.
His Game 7 injury surely cost him all of 2025-26, and the Pacers will have to get by without him.
Do they still have a chance of reaching the Finals again, or are their hopes dashed without Haliburton?
The Thunder will be the favorites to go all the way again, of course, especially if Gilgeous-Alexander is playing like he did last year.
And could he possibly pull off a huge accomplishment and win all of those prizes twice in a row?
No one should count out Gilgeous-Alexander and his team because he has repeatedly shown what he is truly capable of.
Everyone, including Haliburton, is in awe.
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