Mark Montieth: No one has come closer to assuming Reggie Miller’s mantle than Tyrese Haliburton

Editor’s note: This column was written for IBJ’s print edition on Friday but before Tyrese Haliburton’s last-second shot that beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.

The Pacers have been waiting and hoping, not to mention drafting and trading, for a legitimate successor to Reggie Miller since he retired in 2005. After a couple of false starts, it’s safe to say they have found him.

Tyrese Haliburton is blossoming before our very eyes as he leads the Pacers to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, when Miller did it for the only other time in franchise history. Although he’s still experiencing growing pains along the way, Haliburton has produced as many stunning individual highlights and led as many jaw-dropping comebacks in his three-plus seasons in Indianapolis as Miller did in 18. You can find an eight-minute reel of them on YouTube.

Sounds sacrilegious, sure, but it’s true. And Miller, who has helped provide the soundtrack for some of those moments from his courtside position as a broadcast analyst, would not argue the point.

Miller is the one, after all, who more than once has shouted “a superstar in the making!” after one of Haliburton’s game-winning shots. He’s also the one who offered this bold prediction: “I really do believe that he can carry this team to a championship.”

That could happen this month as the Pacers face Oklahoma City in the Finals. They are decided underdogs, and nobody should feel betrayed if they don’t win it all this time around. But the anticipation for a league championship is going to be with the franchise for at least a few years.

Although Pascal Siakam has a contract virtually equal to Haliburton’s and edged him out for Eastern Conference Finals MVP honors, Haliburton will bear the greatest burden of expectation. The Pacers have put a max contract and the keys to the offense in his pocket and stacked capable pieces around him. Miller says the lack of a league championship on his resumé still haunts him. Haliburton will be saying the same thing if it doesn’t happen, no matter how well he plays.

Time is on his side, though. He turned 25 in February. When Miller turned 25 in August 1990, he had played three NBA seasons and in one All-Star Game but had yet to produce a memorable playoff moment. In fact, he had only played in three playoff games, all losses.

He played consistently well in the following postseasons but didn’t make much of a splash until 1994 with his 25-point fourth quarter against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden. He was nearly 29 then. When the Pacers reached the NBA Finals for the first time in 2000, he was nearly 35, almost a decade older than Haliburton is now.

Haliburton can match Miller highlight for highlight and matches Miller’s greatest superpower, 3-point shooting. Miller’s career average was .395. Haliburton’s is .392. Toss in Haliburton’s playmaking ability as the tiebreaker. Haliburton has averaged 8.8 assists throughout his career, while Miller averaged three as a shooting guard.

Still, despite playing different positions, Miller and Haliburton could fill a scouting report with their similarities. Similar size and build. Unorthodox shooting form. Raised well and well-mannered (off the court). One drafted 11th (Miller) and the other 12th (Haliburton), and both watched the proceedings from a couch at home with their families. Both self-aware and smart—kind of nerdy, actually. Olympic gold medalists, too.

Most of all, both have the knack for producing in high-pressure moments and don’t mind celebrating it. There’s the choke sign, of course, which Miller made iconic when he engaged Spike Lee during that 25-point fourth quarter in the 1994 playoffs. Haliburton did it, too, as a tribute to Miller in Game 1 against the Knicks last month after hitting what he thought was a game-winning 3-pointer at the final buzzer, bouncing it high off the back rim for added drama. Miller, working the TNT telecast from midcourt, laughed devilishly at that one and exchanged smiles with Haliburton. It turned out Haliburton’s toe had touched a fraction of the 3-point line, reducing the shot to a mere 2-pointer that tied the game, but the Pacers won in overtime.

Both also have jumped on the padding in front of the scorer’s table to celebrate game-winning shots and have even been known to put their hands in the region of their, uh, manhood to emphasize a point in an opponent’s arena.

Away from the heat of the moment, however, both were/are mature professionals who set positive examples for their teammates and within the city.

George and Oladipo

Pacers fans would be justifiably skittish about elevating Haliburton to Miller’s plateau. The last two players put into that conversation didn’t work out so well.

Paul George was on his way to surpassing Miller’s career, having earned four All-Star team selections, a first-team all-defense nod and other honors in his six full seasons with the franchise. Comparisons could be made. Like Miller, he grew up about an hour outside Los Angeles and was selected in the same region of the draft—10th. But he was bigger and far more athletic than Miller and was building a collection of playoff heroics.

Miller, in fact, first used his “we are seeing a superstar in the making” line when George blew past LeBron James for a stunning slam-dunk in Game 2 of the 2013 conference finals in Miami. It seemed appropriate. George further captured the hearts of the fan base after breaking his leg in an exhibition game while competing for Team USA in preparation for the Olympics in 2014.

He was truly beloved by the fan base when he made his comeback late the following season. A nice guy, too. But having grown up with two older sisters who coddled him, he was ill-suited for a leadership position and didn’t want to participate in a rebuild. His “gut punch” of a trade request, from far out in left field in the summer of 2017, was seen as a betrayal.

Strike one.

Victor Oladipo, acquired from Oklahoma City along with Domas Sabonis when George’s request was granted, helped fans to forget quickly. Oladipo was superb in the 2017-2018 season, averaging 23.1 points and a league-leading 2.4 steals. He was voted the league’s Most Improved Player, first-team all-defense and to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. He was charismatic, too, an accomplished singer who had ambition to star in the entertainment industry, as well.

Like George before him, he produced a triple-double in the playoffs. Also like George, he celebrated game-winning shots by pointing downward with both index fingers and shouting, “This is my city!” And, like George, he suffered a major injury, tearing his quadriceps muscle in January 2019, further endearing him to a sympathetic fan base. His No. 4 jersey could be seen on the backs of fans throughout the fieldhouse, by far the most popular of all the players.

He came back to play 19 games the following season but was traded to Houston early in the 2020-2021 season after the Pacers refused to meet his agent’s request for a long-term contract—a good thing, because injuries continued to haunt Oladipo. He has missed the previous two seasons. He hopes to play again but might not be able to make yet another comeback.

Strike two.

And now comes Haliburton. He hasn’t done the “This is my city!” thing but has done more than make a spontaneous gesture. He’s openly declared his affection for Indianapolis and the Pacers. And it feels safe to believe him.

George always harbored a desire to get back “home” to Los Angeles and mentioned it to intimates within the Pacers organization. Oladipo often seemed more interested in his personal stat line than the team’s bottom line. At times, the impression was that he would rather score 30 and lose than score 12 and win. Both often seemed isolated from their teammates in the locker room.

Leading like a mother

Haliburton is different. Home for him is OshKosh, Wisconsin, which hasn’t had a major professional basketball team since 1949 when it played in the National Basketball League. He’s comfortable in the Midwest. And while he’s capable of playoff triple-doubles of his own—he produced a gem in Game 4 against the Knicks with 30 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds and no turnovers—he considers his primary role to be that of team “mom,” whose job is to “take care of everybody.”

“He brings people together,” Miller says.

Might bring the juice boxes, too.

It seems fitting that Haliburton was born on Feb. 29, 2000. That evening, the Pacers defeated Detroit at the Fieldhouse, 115-105. Fitting, because the Pacers won that night with balance, depth and chemistry. Six players scored in double figures, led by Miller’s 24, while Travis Best scored eight and Sam Perkins seven. They were eight deep despite the absence of starter Dale Davis and rotation reserve Al Harrington, who were injured.

The current version of the Pacers has similar balance, depth and chemistry. It also has a young “superstar in the making” who appears ready-made to lead it.

Leave the last word to Bob Myers, the former Golden State general manager who built four championship teams before stepping down to become an ESPN analyst. He had the second pick in the 2020 draft but passed over Haliburton in favor of James Wiseman.

“What bothers me more than anything was his workout was good, [but] when we met with him after, I should have known then because of how he is as a person and as a leader. … That conversation left a mark because of how smart he is and how confident [he is],” Myers recalled recently.

“He’s showing us now he’s a great player. But more than that, there’s a lot of great players in the NBA that people don’t want to play with. A lot of them.”

People want to play with Haliburton. And Haliburton wants to play here. Pacers fans can breathe a sigh of relief. The Next One has arrived.•

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Montieth, an Indianapolis native, is a longtime newspaper reporter and freelance writer. He is the author of three books: “Passion Play: Coach Gene Keady and the Purdue Boilermakers,” “Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis,” and “Extra Innings: My Life in Baseball,” with former Indianapolis Indians President Max Schumacher.