Sacramento Kings (2020–2022) 2020–21: All-Rookie honors Haliburton was selected with the 12th pick by the
Sacramento Kings in the first round of the
2020 NBA draft. On November 27, 2020, the Kings officially announced they had signed Haliburton. On December 23, he made his
NBA debut, coming off the bench in a 124–122
overtime victory over the
Denver Nuggets with 12 points, four assists, two rebounds and a block. On April 14, 2021, Haliburton recorded a career-high six steals in a 123–111 loss to the
Washington Wizards. On May 2, 2021, Haliburton suffered a left knee injury against the
Dallas Mavericks. Although an MRI later revealed no ligament damage, it was announced that he would miss the last seven games of the Kings'
2020–21 season as a precaution. After the season, Haliburton finished third in
Rookie of the Year voting and was named to the
NBA All-Rookie First Team.
2021–22: Final year in Sacramento On January 29, 2022, Haliburton scored his Kings' then-career-high 38 points along with seven assists, three rebounds and two steals in a 103–101 loss against the
Philadelphia 76ers. Exactly a week later, in his final game as a King, Haliburton posted a then-career-high 17 assists, along with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals in a 113–103 victory over the
Oklahoma City Thunder. With the trade deadline approaching, the Kings were seeking to acquire a center and held a surplus of point guards. The team had signed
De'Aaron Fox to a five-year extension in 2020 to solidify him as the franchise's starting point guard, and later selected
Davion Mitchell in the
2021 NBA draft. As a result, Haliburton became Sacramento's best trade asset in efforts to immediately improve the roster and end an NBA-record 16-year playoff drought.
Indiana Pacers (2022–present) 2021–22: First year in Indiana On February 8, 2022, Haliburton,
Buddy Hield, and
Tristan Thompson were traded to the
Indiana Pacers in exchange for
Domantas Sabonis,
Justin Holiday,
Jeremy Lamb and a
2023 second-round pick. At the time of the trade, Pacers coach
Rick Carlisle referred to Haliburton as "an elite young point guard that affects the game positively in many, many ways". Pacers president
Kevin Pritchard stated that the team intended on building around Haliburton as its long-term centerpiece. The acquisition was regarded as a steal for the Pacers by
Sports Illustrated. On February 11, Haliburton made his Pacers debut in a 120–113 loss to the
Cleveland Cavaliers, logging 23 points in addition to six assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Five days later, Haliburton recorded 21 points and 14 assists in his first win with the Pacers, defeating the
Washington Wizards 113–108. Haliburton participated in the NBA's
2022 Rising Stars Challenge alongside teammate
Chris Duarte. Haliburton and
Desmond Bane were the winners of the 2022 Clorox Clutch Challenge at the
NBA All-Star Weekend. He scored another 25 points in a 131–128 loss to the
Atlanta Hawks five days later. On March 23, in the first game against his former team, Haliburton recorded 13 points, 15 assists and three steals in a one-point loss to the
Sacramento Kings. Five days later, he recorded a 25-point, 13-assist double-double in a loss to the Hawks. On April 1, Haliburton scored 30 points against the
Boston Celtics, but was fouled out in the fourth quarter, leading to a 128–123 loss. Two days later, Haliburton tallied a near triple-double with 19 points, 17 assists, nine rebounds and no turnovers against the
Detroit Pistons, recording the most assists in a game by a Pacer since
T. J. McConnell in the
2020–21 season. In the 26 games he played for Indiana after the trade deadline, Haliburton averaged 17.5 points and 9.6 assists.
2022–23: First All-Star selection During the offseason, Haliburton worked on improving his game and his chemistry with the rest of the Pacers roster. Eight days later, Haliburton became the first player in NBA history to record 40-plus assists and no turnovers in a three-game stretch, averaging 20 points, 13.3 assists, six rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. On December 23, Haliburton made a game-winning three-pointer and finished with a then-career-high 43 points on a Pacers franchise-record 10
three-pointers along with seven assists in a 121–118 victory over the
Miami Heat. In early 2023, Haliburton missed two weeks due to elbow and knee injuries, with the team going 1–9 in his absence. In his return on February 2 against the
Los Angeles Lakers, Haliburton tallied 26 points, 12 assists, and two steals in a narrow 112–111 loss. Haliburton was named to his first-ever
NBA All-Star Game in 2023 as a reserve guard for the
Eastern Conference, recording 18 points, three assists and a rebound. Haliburton and teammate
Buddy Hield were selected to participate in the
2023 NBA Three-Point Contest, where they both lost in the finals to
Damian Lillard. On March 5, Haliburton made his second game-winning three-pointer of the season in a 125–122 victory over the
Chicago Bulls, finishing with 29 points on 11 of 17 field goals along with 11 assists. The next day against the
Philadelphia 76ers, Haliburton posted his 30th
double-double of the season with 39 points and 16 assists, becoming the first player in Pacers franchise history to record 30-plus points and 15-plus assists in a single game. On March 9, Haliburton scored 29 points while dishing out a career-high 19 assists in a 134–125 overtime victory over the
Houston Rockets.
2023–24: First All-NBA selection and Eastern Conference Finals On July 1, 2023, Haliburton agreed to a maximum contract extension with the Pacers worth up to $260 million over five years. The same day, it was announced that Haliburton would represent the
United States Men's National Team at the
2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. On November 4, Haliburton tied a then-career-high with 43 points and added 12 assists in a one-point loss to the
Charlotte Hornets. He also became the first player in Pacers history to put up at least 40-plus points and 10-plus assists in a game. Two days later, Haliburton recorded 23 points and eight assists in a 41-point win over the
San Antonio Spurs, giving head coach
Rick Carlisle his 900th career win. On November 14, Haliburton recorded a near triple-double with 33 points, 15 assists, seven rebounds, and no turnovers in a
2023 in-season tournament win over
Joel Embiid,
Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers. He became just the 5th player in NBA history to have 30-plus points, 15-plus assists and no turnovers in a single game, joining
John Stockton,
Chris Paul,
LeBron James and
James Harden. He also became the first player in NBA history with 25-plus points, 15-plus assists and no turnovers in consecutive games since tracking began in
1977–78. On November 30, Haliburton scored a career-high 44 points along with 10 assists in a 142–132 loss against the
Miami Heat. At the end of November, Haliburton joined Lebron James and
Michael Jordan as the only players in league history to average at least 25 points and 10 assists per game while shooting 50 and 40 percent from the floor and three-point range, respectively, in a single month. On December 4, Haliburton recorded his first career
triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists and no turnovers in a 122–112 victory over the
Boston Celtics. Three days later, Haliburton had 27 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds in a 128–119 victory in the semifinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament against the Milwaukee Bucks. On December 28, Haliburton recorded 20 points, a then-career-high 20 assists and zero turnovers in a 120–104 victory over the Chicago Bulls. He became just the second player in NBA history to record 20-plus points and 20-plus assists without a turnover, joining
Chris Paul. Two days later, Haliburton scored 22 points and recorded a career-high 23 assists during a 140–126 win over the
New York Knicks. He joined
John Stockton and
Magic Johnson as the only players in NBA history to record back-to-back 20-point and 20-assist games. His 23 assists also tied
Jamaal Tinsley's Pacers franchise record for the most assists in a game. On January 25, 2024, Haliburton was named an
Eastern Conference starter for the
2024 NBA All-Star Game, in Indianapolis, marking his second consecutive selection and his first selection as a starter. On February 5, it was announced that Haliburton would return to participate in the 2024
NBA Three-Point Contest for the second consecutive season. During the All-Star Game, Haliburton scored 32 points and made 10 three-pointers, including a 29-footer in the fourth quarter in the Eastern Conference's 211–186 victory. Haliburton was two votes short of besting All-Star teammate
Damian Lillard of the
Milwaukee Bucks for the
NBA All-Star Game MVP. On April 5, in a game against the
Oklahoma City Thunder, Haliburton logged his 714th assist of the season, passing
Mark Jackson for the most assists made in a season in Pacers franchise history. At the season's end, Haliburton was named to the
All-NBA Third Team, his first career All-NBA selection. On April 26, Haliburton logged a triple-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists, including a game-winning three-point play, in the Pacers' 121–118 overtime victory in Game 3 of the
first round of the playoffs against the
Milwaukee Bucks. In Game 3 of the
Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks, Haliburton scored a playoff career-high 35 points in a 111–106 victory. The Pacers defeated the Knicks in seven games to advance to the
Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2014. In Game 2 of the Conference Finals, Haliburton suffered a hamstring injury and missed the rest of the series as the Pacers were swept by the
Boston Celtics.
2024–25: First Finals appearance and Game 7 Achilles rupture On November 10, 2024, Haliburton put up 35 points and 14 assists in a 132–121 victory over the
New York Knicks. He and
Bennedict Mathurin became the first duo to each score at least 35 points in a game in Pacers franchise history. On January 2, 2025, Haliburton recorded 33 points, a season-high 15 assists and zero turnovers in a 128–115 victory over the
Miami Heat. He also became the first player in NBA history to have multiple games with at least 30 points and 15 assists with zero turnovers. On March 11, Haliburton converted a
four-point play with three seconds remaining to give the Pacers a narrow 115–114 victory over the
Milwaukee Bucks. On April 2, Haliburton recorded 22 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers in a 119–105 victory over the
Charlotte Hornets. He also surpassed
Chris Paul's previous record of 13 for the most games in NBA history with at least 20 points and 10 assists with zero turnovers. At the season's end, Haliburton was named to the
All-NBA Third Team, his second consecutive All-NBA selection. Around the start of the
2025 NBA playoffs,
The Athletic released its annual anonymous player survey, and Haliburton received the most votes among his peers for the distinction of the "Most Overrated Player." On April 29, Haliburton recorded 26 points, five rebounds, nine assists, three steals, three blocks and the game-winning layup with 1.3 seconds left in overtime to seal the Pacers' narrow 119–118 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks and eliminate the Bucks in five games in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Exactly a week later, he scored 19 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and made a game-winning three-pointer in a narrow 120–119 come-from-behind victory over the
Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the second round of the playoffs. On May 13, Haliburton had 31 points, six rebounds, and eight assists in a 114–105 closeout victory over the Cavaliers in Game 5, leading the Pacers to their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. Eight days later in Game 1 of the
Eastern Conference Finals, Haliburton recorded 31 points and 11 assists, including a clutch jumper to force overtime, in the Pacers' 138–135 comeback victory over the New York Knicks. Haliburton notably made a
choke gesture towards the crowd after hitting the game-tying shot, which he initially thought was a game-winning three-pointer, in reference to former Pacer
Reggie Miller's same motion after his infamous "
eight points in nine seconds" play in Game 1 of the
1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Knicks. Miller was in the same building during the game as a commentator. In Game 4, Haliburton logged a triple-double of 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 15 assists in a 130–121 victory. He became the first player in playoff history to achieve 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 15+ assists with zero turnovers. Haliburton recorded 21 points, 11 of which coming from the fourth quarter, and 13 assists in Game 6 to help Indiana reach a 125–108 victory over the Knicks, granting him his first visit to the
NBA Finals and the first appearance for the Pacers since
2000. On June 5, in his NBA Finals debut, Haliburton posted a stat line of 14 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, and scored a game-winning jumper with 0.3 seconds left, as the Pacers completed a 15-point comeback to win 111–110 against the
Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the series. His go-ahead shot with 0.3 seconds left marked the latest game winner in an NBA Finals game since
Michael Jordan's buzzer-beating shot in
1997. The following day on
Get Up, ESPN sportswriter
Brian Windhorst proclaimed that "Haliburton is unequivocally having the greatest run of clutch shooting we have seen in the history of the sport". In Game 3 of the Finals, Haliburton nearly tallied a triple-double with 22 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists in a 116–107 victory at home against the Thunder to gain a 2–1 lead in the series. He had a dismal performance in Game 5, however, scoring four points in 34 minutes and missing all of his field goal attempts in a loss against the Thunder. The performance was perhaps affected by a right calf strain that he aggravated in the first quarter. Following the game, he underwent an
MRI exam to assess the injury, to which the medical professionals determined the strain to be a multi-week recovery. Despite this, he ultimately suited up for Game 6 of the series, helping the Pacers blow out the Thunder 108–91, and forcing a Game 7. Haliburton got off to a hot start in the decisive seventh game, knocking down 3-of-4 three-pointers. However, with 4:55 left in the first quarter, he suffered what was confirmed the following day to be a torn right Achilles tendon. Indiana struggled turning the ball over without their star point guard facilitating their offense, which the Thunder took advantage of, leading to a 91–103 Pacers loss and Thunder championship win. Haliburton's injury was reminiscent of
Kevin Durant's Achilles rupture during Game 5 of the
2019 NBA Finals, a game in which Durant made his return after missing nine games with a strained right calf. On June 23, following his surgery, Haliburton took to social media to share his positive outlook and to encourage fans, stating, "At 25, I’ve already learned that God never gives us more than we can handle. I know I’ll come out on the other side of this a better man and a better player. And honestly, right now, torn Achilles and all, I don’t regret it. I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers. For the chance to do something special." On July 7, the Pacers announced that Haliburton would miss the entire
2025–26 season due to his injury. ==National team career==