Tyrese Haliburton earns jaw-dropping spot in recent NBA rankings

Over the last year, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton solidified himself as one of the best guards in the NBA. Last season was the best campaign of his NBA career so far, leading the league in assists, earning All-NBA honors for the first time, and most importantly, helping the Pacers reach the conference finals for the first time since 2014.

Additionally, this past summer, he earned a gold medal representing Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Haliburton became the first Pacer to do so since Paul George, and he is in a great spot to win more throughout his career.

There is no denying Haliburton's stardom and potential as the face of the Pacers franchise. However, after looking into this new NBA rankings list, even Pacers fans can recognize that the 24-year-old is getting just a little bit too much love.

Action Network ranks Tyrese Haliburton as the sixth-best player in the NBA

Matt Moore and Brandon Anderson of Action Network recently ranked the top 100 players in the NBA. In their ranking, they factored in performance, age, health, and impact. The first few names (Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo) should raise no eyebrows. However, the list becomes very bold shortly after.

Moore and Anderson ranked Haliburton as the sixth-best player in the NBA. In addition to the aforementioned players, they ranked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Joel Embiid ahead of the Pacers star. Needless to say, this is incredibly bold.

In their explanation, they cited that Haliburton was the orchestrator and overall best player on the highest-scoring offense in the league last season (which is true). Additionally, they compared him to two-time NBA MVP and Hall of Famer Steve Nash.

Haliburton is great, there is no question about that. But again, having him ranked sixth, especially considering he has never even been in MVP consideration (yet) is a very hot take. For context, Moore and Anderson ranked Haliburton above players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Victor Wembanyama, Jayson Tatum, and Anthony Edwards.

Considering how doubted Haliburton and the Pacers have been for the past year, and even this past summer despite their playoff run, seeing him receive this much love and appreciation is almost like a relief for his fans. However, it is fair to say it may be a bit too much.

The sky is the limit for Haliburton (which, to be fair, is probably why Action Network ranked him as high as they did), but he has not done nearly enough up to this point to justify this ranking. However, in due time, one he rakes up the accolades and builds off the Pacers' success, Haliburton should be considered one of the top overall players in the league.