Tyrese Haliburton praises Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after NBA Finals: 'MVP for a reason'
But Haliburton's torn Achilles hovered over the legacy-defining game. Once he went down, the Thunder jogged their way to an NBA championship. Nobody on the Pacers could make up for what the All-Star brings both as a scorer and playmaker.
Alas, Haliburton's absence rubbed some folks the wrong way. They view it as a cheap title for the Thunder. Of course you're going to win a game where TJ McConnell was relied upon to create buckets. That said, it comes with the territory of sports. There was always a risk involved as Haliburton played through a calf strain.
Appearing on ESPN's "Pat McAfee Show," Haliburton had no sour grapes about the Thunder's championship. He went out of his way to compliment Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He's fresh off one of the greatest individual seasons ever highlighted by an MVP, Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP trophies.
"Shai is the MVP for a reason. I think that he gets paint touches at an elite level. Does a great job of getting to his spots, can score at all three levels," Haliburton said. "The season he put together is one of the greatest seasons in NBA history."
Haliburton has always been complimentary towards Gilgeous-Alexander. He called him the MVP before he won the trophy. What made it more daring for him to say that was that Nikola Jokic was still in a two-man race. He almost led one of the biggest upsets ever but fell just short.
A championship counts all the same for the Thunder. They received some injury luck, sure. But so did every other NBA champion in league history. What happened to Haliburton is unfortunate and altered the Pacers' long-term future, but it would've been unreasonable to expect him to sit out with a championship within grasp.
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