Indiana Pacers: Comparing Tyrese Haliburton to 5 generational guards

3. Can he bring the competitive fire of Steve Nash?

Steve Nash is another point guard that won multiple MVP’s during his time in the league. He is known for his time with multiple franchises such as the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns. Yet when the comparison is made between Haliburton and Nash in year three, how do Nash’s numbers compare?

Nash Year Three: 7.9 points, 5.5 assists, and 0.9 steals, on 36% field goal percentage.

Haliburton Year Three: 20.5 points, 10.3 assists, and 1.8 steals on 48% field goal percentage.

The comparison between the two is a clean sweep at the moment, with Tyrese having the advantage in terms of points per game, assists (almost double), and steals on much more efficient shooting. In fact, it would take another six years before Nash would average double-digit assists during a season and another two seasons before he would hit double-digit points (these would occur after he was traded back to Phoenix).

So in terms of this comparison, Tyrese seems to be ahead of schedule. That’s not to say that there won’t be regression or that the small sample size of this season won’t hold. One aspect of Nash’s game that Haliburton may need to improve is the fire and intensity he brings to every game. The level of competition to which Nash would bring his game is what made him the two-time MVP he became.