Tyrese Haliburton is probably one of the last of a dying breed of pass-first point guards. However, as much as his game reminds many of classic facilitators, “The Moment” puts an unorthodox twist on it. He is a master of the jump pass, among other things, a throw that often draws the coach’s ire.
How did Hali get so good at it? Well, he points his fingers at LeBron James.
Advertisement
“Honestly, I blame people like you for why it’s that way,” Haliburton told LBJ on the “Mind the Game” podcast after the latter asked about the jump pass. “Growing up, I watched a lot of NBA basketball. That’s the main thing I watched. I would see guys like you and my dad loved Magic (Johnson), so we’d always watch old Magic highlights and stuff.”
Turning a forbidden move into a weapon
As LeBron explained, young kids starting to learn basketball are often prohibited from their feet leaving the ground before making the pass.
Advertisement
The logic is simple. As soon as you leave the ground to pass, you can easily run out of options in mid-air, which often leads to a turnover. However, that risky maneuver could be used as an advantage if you know what you’re doing.
“I was always a taller kid, so as guys got taller as well, it was just a way for me to always be seeing over the defense. I felt comfortable making that read in the air. I know that coaches don’t wanna teach it and it’s kinda like taboo in a sense, but for me, it was just a way for me to hold the ball longer to make reads,” added the Indiana Pacers point guard.
The supposedly forbidden approach paid off in spades. The NBA released a nearly two-minute highlight video of Haliburton making jump passes, showcasing how advanced his technique is.
Advertisement
He could use the jump pass to manipulate defenders, such as faking a skip to the corner and feeding the big man down low. Or, he would just hang in the air for a split second until a teammate cutting baseline frees himself up.
As a result, Tyrese is single-handedly debunking the age-old myth that jump passes lead to turnovers. He consistently ranked among the league’s best in assist-to-turnover ratio, a metric that underscores how smart and precise he is with the ball.
For instance, Haliburton led the NBA among qualified players last season, with 5.61 assists for every turnover committed. Additionally, Hali recorded 14 instances where he scored at least 20 points and dropped 10 dimes without turning the ball over. That number is tops in NBA history, one more than Chris Paul and two more than James.
Advertisement
Jump passes are not the only thing on the menu
Haliburton’s dimes are not limited to jump passes; he is especially dangerous when he makes the simple, throw-ahead pass to start the Pacers’ vaunted fastbreaks. Under his watch, Indiana ranked third in offensive rating in the 2025 postseason and had the highest assist rate among the playoff teams.
Tyrese was probably the most clutch performer during the Pacers’ Finals run. He hit three game-winners in total, one for almost every series they were on. Haliburton made a series-clinching layup against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, drilled a stepback 3-pointer to win Game 2 in the semis vs. Cleveland, and shocked the OKC Thunder in Game 1 of the finals with a pull-up 21-footer.
Advertisement
It’s wild to think that one of the league’s best passers is also one of its best clutch performers. Haliburton’s playmaking arsenal and crunch-time poise make him the ideal court general, and the Pacers fans can’t wait to see him back on the court.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.