Scheduled
Brooklyn Nets at Miami Heat
2026-27 · Preseason · Preseason
Kendrick Perkins issues public apology to Tyrese Haliburton: ‘Young man, you are one of them’
Perkins took back his old "overrated" label on NBA Today and put Haliburton alongside Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson as the Pacers star works back from his Achilles tear.
In this article
Oct. 14, 2026 — Tyrese Haliburton’s comeback season is only three preseason games old, and it has already produced a public apology from one of his loudest critics.
Speaking on NBA Today, a took back his old claim that the Indiana Pacers guard was overrated and said Haliburton now belongs in any conversation about the league’s top point guards.
“Young man, you are one of them”
“I was one of them that called him overrated two years ago. And I would like to issue a public apology, because young man, you are one of them,” Perkins said. “When we start to talk about Luka and Jalen Brunson and these top dogs around the league, we have to mention this young man. He led a team to the NBA Finals. This man is one of the best leaders in the game, he’s a throwback guard … no one can question him in the clutch, because he’s proven that on the big stage.”
The “overrated” label followed Haliburton through the 2024-25 season, when an anonymous player poll named him the most overrated player in the league. He answered it that spring by leading Indiana to the NBA Finals with a string of late-game winners, before tearing his Achilles in Game 7 against Oklahoma City. Perkins had also been one of the voices saying Haliburton should not play through the calf strain that preceded the tear, a take Haliburton has since pushed back on publicly.
The comeback so far
Haliburton missed all of the 2025-26 season. He returned in Indiana’s preseason opener on Oct. 7 with seven points, six assists, a steal and two blocks, sat out the next game, then scored 24 points in the first half of Tuesday’s overtime loss at Oklahoma City, his first game back at Paycom Center since the injury. He shot 9 of 14, including 4 of 6 from three, in 18 minutes.
Afterward, Haliburton said the return to the building “wasn’t nearly as bad” as he expected and that he chose to play there to “rip the Band-Aid off.” Indiana closes the preseason Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks and opens the regular season Oct. 21 against the New Orleans Pelicans, when the case Perkins just made gets its first real test.
Join the discussion
0 commentsTalk basketball. Keep it respectful. You can use a name or stay Anonymous. Comments publish immediately.
Be the first to start the conversation.