The best current NBA player from every Sweet 16 team left in the NCAA Tournament
By Ben Handler
2. Iowa State Cyclones: Tyrese Haliburton
This was one of the easiest actual decisions I had to make as Haliburton has elevated to one of the best players in the entire NBA. He was on pace for a first-team All-NBA selection before injuring his hamstring earlier in the season, and he’s still in the mix.
One of the best point guards in the league, Haliburton is an offensive engine unto himself and was leading the highest-rated offense in NBA history for several months. He was a very good college player and was drafted in the late lottery, but Tyrese has outperformed all expectations and become a true superstar in Indiana.
In just his fourth year in the league, Haliburton made his second consecutive All-Star Game, and he’s scoring 20.4 points per game and leading the NBA by dishing out 11.2 dimes per contest. At just 24 years old, if he can bolster his defense, there’s a real chance he could one day be the best player on a championship team - no small feat for a point guard.
The only other Cyclones currently in the league are Talen Horton-Tucker of the Jazz, Monte Morris of the Timberwolves, and Georges Niang of the 76ers. Those are all solid role players, but nobody is sniffing Hali.
Even at this early point in his career, Haliburton already has a case as the best NBA player to ever come out of Iowa State. He may have to do it for another year or two to unanimously overtake Jeff Hornaceck, but beyond that, there isn’t much there.