Tyrese Haliburton Called Out NBA Media ‘Talking Heads,’ And Stephen A. Smith Took That Personally

Tyrese Haliburton didn't even have to mention Stephen A. Smith by name.

Following the Indiana Pacers' Game 3 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, a reporter asked Haliburton how he feels about the team's doubters in the media — the ones saying Indiana doesn't stand a chance, that they don't deserve to be in the NBA Finals and that Haliburton himself isn't being "aggressive" as a team leader should be.

"The commentary is always going to be what it is," Haliburton said. "Most of the time the talking heads on the major platforms, I couldn't care less, honestly. What do they really know about basketball?

"At a time like this, I'm not really on social media as much. I try to stay off it as much as I can. But you see it. ESPN might be on in my house, and there it is. It is what it is."

Haliburton also noted that he watches plenty of film and that it's "important" to him to see where he can get better.

And even though I'm a biased Pacers fan, this seems like a pretty fair take from Haliburton. He hears the criticism, he knows it's there, but his focus is on his game and his team. 

How else is he supposed to answer that question?

Stephen A. Smith took exception to Tyrese Haliburton's comments about "talking heads."

(Getty Images)

But of course, Stephen A. Smith took it personally. Maybe that's because the longtime ESPN talking head has spent all postseason delivering passionate monologues about why Haliburton is not a superstar. Or because NBA coverage on the network's shows (First Take, in particular) has become a glorified New York Knicks fan podcast.

Still, Smith took issue with Hali's comments and sounded off on Thursday morning.

Stephen A. Smith Responds To Tyrese Haliburton

"Here’s my problem, it’s the sensitivity," Smith ranted. "It was the media that came out and said, ‘You’re not overrated.’ It was your peers who voted you overrated. Not the media. You see how slick these dudes get? They try to point to the media. No! It’s your colleagues, it’s your contemporaries, present and former, who were questioning you.

"People like myself and others, other than the actual superstar debate, have done nothing but rave about Tyrese Haliburton. So, the heightened level of sensitivity that you want to give off, like Magic said, focus on the damn Finals. You ain’t won it yet."

But clearly Stephen A. was really upset (some might say "sensitive") over Haliburton's shade. Because later in the show, he brought it up again.

"Just in case he was talking about me, my brother, I’m not going away. I’m gonna be here awhile," Smith warned Haliburton. "Players far more accomplished and far more superior have made their efforts trying to call me out. How has that worked out?"

Tyrese is shaking in his Pumas, I'm sure.

I'm calling it now: If the Pacers do win this series, Stephen A. Smith will be on First Take taking credit for motivating Haliburton throughout the postseason. The NBA would be nothing without you, SAS!