Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Comes in 1st Place in Major NBA Ranking

Bleacher Report believes Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is the best 26-year-old NBA player. 

Haliburton beat Zion Williamson, Darius Garland and Jaren Jackson Jr. 

Haliburton will return to the Pacers' lineup next season after missing last season due to the Achilles tendon tear he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

One of the top players in the NBA, Haliburton had an outstanding 2024-25 campaign for the Pacers. He averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks per game and made the All-NBA Third Team.

Haliburton is averaging 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks per game in a Pacers uniform. He signed a five-year, $244 million extension with the Pacers in July 2023. The talented floor general will make $48,924,624 next season, $52,298,736 in 2027-28 and $55,672,848 in 2028-29, the final year of his deal.  

Indiana is expected to start Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac next season. That's a strong starting five on paper. 

Haliburton has career averages of 17.5 points and 8.8 assists per game in the regular season and 17.9 points and 8.4 assists per game in the playoffs. The basketball world can't wait to see Hali play again. 

The Pacers may have won Game 7 against the Thunder had Haliburton not gotten hurt. It was a cruel turn of events for Indiana. 

"I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it," Haliburton said on the "Numbers On The Board" podcast. "When I strained my calf, I knew it was a possibility. We knew that internally. Kendrick Perkins was going on TV talking about don't play. Get the f*** out of here. What is he talking about don't play. I knew it was a possibility.

"In that moment, everyone talks about how it feels like you got kicked. I knew right away because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was in front of me. So I was like how did he kick me? There was a short moment while I was falling where I was like how did he kick me in the back of my leg? And then I was like oh s***."

Indiana opens the 2026-27 regular season on October 21 against the New Orleans Pelicans.