Jun 5, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts after a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter in game one of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

It'd be more than understandable if Tyrese Halburton wanted to take a victory lap around all his non-believers on Thursday night.

After hitting two of the most iconic — and improbable — shots of the postseason, the Indiana Pacers star has everyone's full attention just weeks after an anonymous player poll in The Athletic named Haliburton the most overrated in the league. The same poll didn't even mention the Pacers as a title threat or Haliburton as a possible face of the league.

So, yes, Haliburton had every reason to throw that shade right back after his stunning buzzer-beater to win Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals in Oklahoma City on Thursday. Instead, when ESPN's Scott Van Pelt told Haliburton he was wrong for sleeping on his game, Hali embraced the SportsCenter host for owning up to it.

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"You're a real one for that," Haliburton said while giving SVP a handshake. "A lot of your counterparts wouldn't admit that now."

The whole exchange was fantastic — especially with Haliburton joking about the Pacers being "late to the party", too, considering their slow start to the season. But let this be a lesson for the rest of Hali's haters: those who want to own up to their mistakes will be welcomed to the fan club with open arms.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Tyrese Haliburton embraces Scott Van Pelt apology: 'Your counterparts wouldn't admit that'

Reporting by Blake Schuster, For The Win / For The Win

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