Indiana Pacers: Comparing Tyrese Haliburton to 5 generational guards

1. Can he captivate the world like Magic Johnson?

If you ask many players across the NBA and worldwide, they will cite Magic Johnson as an inspiration for playing the point guard position. Magic had all-time level court vision, dominant offensive skills, and a smile and personality that what perfect for the Los Angeles market in which he played. But even given all of this, how does Tyrese Haliburton stack up against arguably the greatest point guard of all time?

Magic Year Three: 18.6 points, 9.5 assists, and 2.7 steals on 53% field goal percentage.

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

Haliburton is average more points and assists than Magic Johnson during his third year. While Haliburton has both fewer steals and a lower field goal percentage. It is worth noting that Haliburton is shooting the three at a much more efficient clip, but much of that might be due to the fact that the NBA looks much different today than it did when Magic dominated the court.

To even be able to be compared to Magic Johnson is an honor, but to do so with some amount of ability to stand up is phenomenal. The Indiana Pacers might not just have one of the greatest players to ever wear the Blue and Gold, they may have one of the best players to ever pick up a basketball.