Tyrese Haliburton did not win the Eastern Conference finals MVP award, and that came as a clear shock to him.
Haliburton’s Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 125-108 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night. After the game, the Larry Bird Trophy was given out to recognize the MVP of the conference finals. As TNT host Ernie Johnson got set to hand out the trophy, Haliburton was seen posing beside a teammate. He then started to take a few steps forward as he was preparing to go collect the trophy. That’s when Johnson announced that Pascal Siakam had won the award instead.
Tyrese Haliburton thought that Larry Bird ECF MVP trophy was his🤣#NBA #Pacers pic.twitter.com/59eF189mNI
— Caleb Nixon (@calebnixonmedia) June 1, 2025
Haliburton was definitely stunned, and he thought the honor was his for very good reasons.
Haliburton had 21 points and 13 assists in the Game 6 win, though Siakam scored 31 points. Haliburton averaged 21 points and 10.5 assists per game during the series. Siakam averaged 24.8 points per game on 52.4 percent shooting.
Haliburton is the leader of the Pacers and helped set the tone for the series with the choking gesture in Game 1. It’s no wonder he thought he would be named the series MVP. He lost it in what turned out to be a very close vote.
