Why Tyrese Haliburton made Team USA over other fan-favorite candidates

Tyrese Haliburton is an Olympian. For Pacers fans, it was a cause for celebration but also concern when Haliburton's name was announced as making the final cut for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Of course, Pacers fans were excited for their franchise player getting the nod, as Haliburton became only the second Pacer to make an Olympic roster since 1996, with Paul George in 2016 being the only other one.

Additionally, fans were salivating at how Haliburton's game would develop after spending a summer with the best players in the NBA and hopefully learning a thing or two from them. However, there were also some concerns, since Haliburton was coming off a hamstring strain which got worse in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and some thought he should stay home and rehab if he was not fully healthy.

Then there were the critics.

Almost from the jump, a wave of criticism came in after Haliburton's inclusion, mostly from certain teams' fans who were angry about their favorite players not making the cut. Overall, the hate for Tyrese Haliburton that was exhibited in the regular season and furthered in the playoffs, reached a new level when his addition to the USA team was announced. It was pretty safe to say that social media was not a fan of Indiana's franchise player making the cut over certain names.

There were plenty of names of people listed as more deserving over Haliburton, but three stood out as the most common, those being Jalen Brunson, Kyrie Irving, and Trae Young. Immediately, the presence of Brunson indicates plenty of angry Knicks fans, still reeling from the Game 7 blowout and Haliburton's trash-talk-filled explosion.

Sticking to playoff disappointment, plenty of Bucks fans were angry to see Haliburton making the roster, also due to playoff disappointment, this time in the first round. Finally, the Trae Young takes were mostly from Hawks fans who felt threatened and offended by Haliburton getting attention and people saying he was better than Young.

Let's get one thing straight. Two of these players are alike, and one is not. Let's talk about it.

Let's start with the first section, which involves Brunson and Irving. It is no secret that these two are incredible scorers, as Irving averaged around 25 points in the regular season while Brunson averaged 28. It is also true that Haliburton is not as flashy of a scorer as these two, 'only' managing 20 points per game in the regular season.

However, Team USA has plenty of scorers already on their roster. Eight of the top 12 players on Team USA's roster averaged more than 20 points in the 2023-24 season (nine including Haliburton), with seven who averaged over 25 points (Anthony Davis averaged 24.7, so not far behind).

It is pretty safe to say that Team USA does not need any more scorers. As a result, they opted to fill the backup point guard hole with a facilitator instead, opting to get the league's leading assist man as the perfect player to set up all the talented scorers on the team to get buckets.

After Haliburton's tone-setting and playmaking ability was showcased in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Grant Hill, who is the managing director for Team USA, understandably picked him to represent the country in the Olympics, with the idea that his playmaking would not only remain but improve with better offensive options around him. It seems that Hill watched Team USA attentively during last year's World Cup and watched Haliburton have to check in and save the offense at times after it slowed down and stagnated with Brunson leading the charge as the starting point guard.

While Brunson and Irving's assist numbers are not awful, at 6.7 and 5.2 per game, respectively, they pale in comparison to Haliburton's near-11 assist per-game average. Additionally, Haliburton's assist-to-turnover ratio is far higher than both of theirs despite him having the majority of ball-handling duties and being the team's primary playmaker.

This translated beautifully in Team USA's first Showcase game against Canada, where Haliburton had six assists in 20 minutes and not a single turnover while improving Team USA's offense and pace as soon as he checked in, even making a bigger offensive impact than Stephen Curry.

Now that we have Brunson and Irving out of the way, let's talk about Trae. Of all the players to bring up to complain about, Trae Young might be the most valid one. Not only is he an elite shooter, but he is also a top playmaker and passer in the league who can set up opponents, no matter their skill level, and also take over with the ball in his hands. On offense, he would be a decent Haliburton replacement or at least the best out of the three names mentioned.

However, similar to Brunson, Young lacks in the height and length department. At 6-foot-1, Young's listed height is four inches shorter than Haliburton's, who stands at 6-foot-5. Additionally, Young's 6-foot-2 wingspan is 5.5 inches shorter than Haliburton's 6-foot-7.5 wingspan.

This may not seem like a big deal, but on a team that also needs defense, it is. While neither Young, Haliburton, Brunson, or Irving are elite defenders (none of them have good defensive reputations), Haliburton has the distinction of being the tallest and lankiest out of the four options, and thus a more switchable and versatile defender.

This was on full display in the showcase game against Canada, where Haliburton used his length at the point guard position to play some fantastic on-ball and off-ball defense, getting four steals and blocking one shot, followed by winning the ensuing jump ball.

This is unfortunately an advantage that none of the four players listed can control, but Haliburton is clearly the best of the bunch. This distinction was probably the deciding factor in Grant Hill, who is a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks, the team Young plays for, to take Haliburton over him while finalizing the roster.

At the end of the day, you cannot do much reasoning with stubborn people. Even if you spell it out for them, people will still continue claiming Haliburton does not deserve his Olympic spot and the three listed players deserve it more. While Brunson, Young, and Irving would not be bad selections for Team USA at all, as they are all spectacular players, they just did not have what the team lacked the most, which was playmaking.

As for Young, the only good playmaker on the list, his height and length do not match up to Haliburton's which gives him the defensive disadvantage, not to mention the higher amount of turnovers. It is hard to go wrong with four All-Stars for your backup point guard spot, but when it comes to fit, it is clear that Tyrese Haliburton is the smartest option, and he proved it in the first game.