With the Eastern Conference Finals now over, you know what that means, right? No, it is not the ‘long’ wait now for the NBA Finals. Rather, it is the announcement of the ECF MVP. Throughout the whole season, and the recent series against the New York Knicks, the Indiana Pacers squad dominated at a level that hadn’t been seen for over a quarter century. Now, after the recent game, one of them was bestowed with one of the ultimate honors a player could receive while entering the NBA Finals.
After much anticipation, the fortunate winner of the Larry Bird trophy was declared to be Pascal Siakam, not Tyrese Haliburton! Ernie Johnson Jr. announced the winner, while Reggie Miller presented the accolade. The Gainbridge Fieldhouse erupted in cheers, and his teammates patted him as Siakam headed to the front to accept the trophy. As Miller embraced him amidst the continuing cheers from the fans, Siakam would have certainly felt this was one of the moments that made his 9-year journey within the NBA worth it.
It certainly was a close race between Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton. According to NBA Communications, the power forward received 5 of the 9 votes for Eastern Conference Finals MVP from a media panel covering the series. Haliburton, on the other hand, received the other four votes. The data showed that amongst the people who voted for Tyrese Haliburton was Reggie Miller himself, who voted as a representative of TNT. The others who voted for Haliburton were the NBA’s Steve Aschburner, ESPN’s Jamal Collier, and ‘The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. However, with Tim Bontemps, Dustin Dopirak, Katie George, Fred Katz, and Steve Popper deciding to go in another direction, Haliburton’s fate was sealed.
Pascal Siakam received five of the nine votes for Eastern Conference Finals MVP from a media panel covering the series. Tyrese Haliburton received the other four votes. pic.twitter.com/ZdpvJsRaTf
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 1, 2025
This is a developing story.
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