Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle had choice words on Tuesday when asked about the anonymous NBA poll that had an unflattering result for Tyrese Haliburton.
On Tuesday, The Athletic released the results of an anonymous poll with 158 NBA players serving as the respondents. The most controversial question on the poll asked players whom they considered to be the “most overrated player.”
While dozens of players received at least one vote, Haliburton won the ignominious title with 14.4% of the “most overrated” votes.
Carlisle was asked about the poll after the Pacers won Game 2 of their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks. The veteran coach challenged the legitimacy of the poll and called it “shameful.”
“The other guys on the list were Jimmy Butler and Giannis [Antetokounmpo],” said Carlisle during his postgame press conference. “I want to see the guys’ faces that voted those guys. I want to see the faces of those guys. This is a bull—t poll. Not everybody even answered the poll. … The whole thing’s bull—t. It’s really a shameful thing. Just a shameful thing.”
Rick Carlisle just went OFF on the anonymous player poll that had Tyrese Haliburton as the most overrated player in the league.
— iPacers.com (@iPacersblog) April 23, 2025
“I want to see the faces of those guys.” pic.twitter.com/0ATomGu9Za
Haliburton looked solid in Tuesday’s 123-115 Pacers win over the Bucks. The two-time All-Star tallied 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 12 assists to help give his team a 2-0 lead in the series.
The Iowa State alum has become one of the NBA’s premier playmakers, averaging 19.5 points and 10.1 assists since he first donned a Pacers uniform. But Haliburton’s emergence as a star has apparently failed to impress some of his peers.
