Former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Metta World Peace believed that Indiana Pacers superstar Tyrese Haliburton would have a strong comeback next season after its year of recovery.
In speaking of the interview, Metta sat down exclusively with Hard Rock Bet to discuss his thoughts on the faces of the NBA, including Haliburton’s return after being sidelined in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals.
“He [Haliburton] will be his old self. He’s had other injuries before, but this is his first major injury, so I think he will be fine. Kevin Durant tore his Achilles. He came back from that and is still playing really well. Haliburton is also younger than Durant was when he suffered that injury,” Metta said.
“Jayson Tatum is back playing well after having the same injury as Haliburton. There are a lot of examples.”
As a former Pacer, Metta also applauds Haliburton for being a great player after leading the second-worst record in the league to the NBA Finals.
“For the Pacers, it goes to show how valuable Haliburton is to them. It shows that he is an MVP-caliber player. He has an unorthodox shot. It reminds me of Reggie Miller’s shot. I call it Reggie Miller 2.0. But he is a great player. For the Pacers to go from the NBA Finals to the second-worst record in the league, it shows you how important he is and how good he is as a player,” he said.
Meanwhile, Indiana finished the current season with a 19-63 win-loss record, securing the second-to-last seed in the Eastern Conference, as the franchise faced numerous injury setbacks aside from Haliburton.
The Pacers guard averaged 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, and 3.5 rebounds over 73 games during the 2024-25 season, while also having a remarkable clutch performance in the playoffs.
