Tyrese Haliburton explains why the Pacers spent last summer 'pissed off' after many considered them a 'fluke'

Haliburton said Indiana had an extra edge to them all season thanks to the chatter

The Indiana Pacers looked dead in the water for most of Game 1 in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night. In fact, the Pacers didn't lead until 0.3 seconds were left in the game, thanks to yet another clutch shot from Tyrese Haliburton, who, with the help of some fourth-quarter heroics from Andrew Nembhard, shocked OKC and stole Game 1 on the road.

It adds a layer of intrigue to an NBA Finals matchup that many didn't see going past five games. And while that certainly still could happen, the Pacers showed everyone yet again they're more than deserving to be on this stage against this team. They still may be heavy underdogs to win this series, but that's OK with the Pacers, as Haliburton said after hitting the go-ahead jumper to seal the win that this team has uses that as motivation.

"After you have a run like last year, and then you get swept in the Eastern Conference finals, and all the conversation is about how you don't belong there, and how you lucked out to get there, and that it was a fluke, guys are going to be pissed off," Haliburton said. "We're going to spend the summer pissed off."

The Pacers were similarly counted out last year in the playoffs but ran through the Bucks and Knicks to get to the conference finals against an unstoppable Celtics team, where they very clearly met their match. Because Indiana faced an injured Milwaukee and New York team, no one seriously considered them a threat to get back to the conference finals, much less make the NBA Finals. Especially after they started the season 16-18 through December. Haliburton specifically struggled, shooting just 43% from the field, which is incredibly uncharacteristic for a guy who could reach a 50/40/90 season at some point.

2025 NBA Finals: Can Thunder bounce back in Game 2? Three keys for OKC after stunning loss to Pacers

Jasmyn Wimbish

"Then you come into the year with all the talk around how it's a fluke," Haliburton said. "You have an unsuccessful first couple months, and now that's easy for everybody to clown you and talk about you in a negative way. And I think as a group, we take everything personal. Like as a group, it's not just me, it's everybody. I feel like that's the DNA of this group, and that's not just me, that's our coaching staff. [They] do a great job of making us aware of what's being said. Us as players, we talk about it in the locker room, we talk about it on the plane. We're a young team, so we probably spend more time on social media than we should, but I just think we do a great job of taking things personal, and that gives this group more confidence."

Confidence and belief are certainly two words you could attribute to the run the Pacers have been on right now. And as Haliburton said, he's not the only player who takes things personally. Back in September right before training camp started, Pascal Siakam posted a video to X, with a voiceover of him saying things like "We've always got something to prove," and "We have to be those people that we know that people don't really want to care about, but we make them care about us."

In that same video, Myles Turner could be heard saying, "Everybody saying we're one-hit wonders," so it's very clear the Pacers have been using the criticism of them in the last 12 months as motivation. 

It's certainly paid off, because not only did Indiana prove everyone wrong in getting to the NBA Finals, they've shocked the world again by pulling off a miraculous win in Game 1. All that's left is winning the whole series, though that's going to be an incredibly tall task against a Thunder team that will want to come out and respond in a big way for Game 2.