Paul George Christening Tyrese Haliburton ‘Face of the NBA’ Sends NBA Twitter in Flames: “I Want his Podcast Canceled”

Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton has elevated himself to at least be talked about as a possible superstar in the league.

Paul George Christening Tyrese Haliburton ‘Face of the NBA’ Sends NBA Twitter in Flames: “I Want his Podcast Canceled”

Paul George believes Tyrese Haliburton is the Face of the NBA (Image via FirstSportz)

Tyrese Haliburton has been making a name for himself in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. After steering his Indiana Pacers to a dominating run, defeating both the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in two straight rounds, they are now in a commanding position in the Eastern Conference Finals.

That was after the 25-year-old star recorded an NBA Playoff record triple-double with 0 turnovers in Game 4. That performance has many believing the Iowa State alum has finally arrived. His performances so far have some believing Haliburton is elevating himself to superstar status.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and a few others were not convinced. They believe the Pacers guard has neither dominated the regular season, nor has he won any individual accolades. On top of it, he does not draw an audience quite like others such as Anthony Edwards or Jalen Brunson do.

However, Game 3 ratings suggest Haliburton has been able to draw enough fans as he helped to bring in a little over 7 million viewers, slightly lower than what LeBron James did a decade ago. After analyzing all this, Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George believes Tyrese Haliburton has done enough.

In my eyes, I think he is a superstar. He’s the face of the NBA. He is the number 1 option… He’s been a clutch performer late in games. I want to see him continue to do this which I know he will.

Paul George said on his podcast

The nine-time All-Star understands that Stephen A. Smith and others are going by the literal definition of the word ‘superstar’ when talking about Face of the NBA. But in Haliburton’s case, George believes he has done enough to at least throw his hat into the ring.

Fans shake their heads listening to Paul George gloating about Tyrese Haliburton

Basketball fans listening to this clip could not believe what the Philadelphia 76ers star had to say. They believe that, despite all the heroics Tyrese Haliburton has performed, it is still too early for anyone to crown him the Face of the NBA. The Pacers star does have the swag, charisma, non-combative attitude, and, more recently, the game to take on that mantle.

But the lack of individual accolades or the lack of consistently elite performances are roadblocks to such a mantle. Secondly, fans believe that the Indiana Pacers have not won anything for Haliburton to get enough praise. They believe Paul George’s take was premature and replied to the clip with frustrated responses, examples of which are below.

Fans are not completely taking away the mantle from Tyrese Haliburton. If he continues to perform at this level for the rest of the playoffs and at least gets the Indiana Pacers to a fighting chance of winning the NBA title, the narrative surrounding him can change.

Tyrese Haliburton cannot help himself with embarrassing Game 5 performance

Game 4 might have elevated Tyrese Haliburton to at least a ‘superstar’ discussion and for that to become a norm, he has to consistently deliver superstar-esque performances. But earlier in Game 5, he had a stinker, finishing the game with a paltry 8 points off 28.6 % shooting.

Tyrese Haliburton and his Pacers struggled mightily in Game 5
Tyrese Haliburton and his Pacers struggled mightily in Game 5 (Image via Polymarket Hoops/X)

Those are not numbers that befit that of a superstar, let alone the Face of the NBA. The two-time All-Star needs to first start to consistently score at least 20 points a game. His assists are usually on point, which means he only has to concentrate on keeping his drive alive.

Maybe if he can speak with close friend and fellow Pacers organization employee, Caitlin Clark, on how to keep the motivation going, it could help him in the long run. He has been speaking to other point guard greats, but Clark might be the closest and best friend in these times.

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