When the Indiana Pacers traded away Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings, a few people were surprised as he had already ascended to NBA All-Star level. But, when it was revealed that the Pacers had received Tyrese Haliburton as part of the return package, the tune changed as people felt it was an excellent deal for Indiana.

Haliburton showcased All-Star potential with the Kings but had to share ball-handling duties with De’Aaron Fox and rookie Davion Mitchell. With the Pacers, the ball would be put in his hands exclusively as the new face of the franchise and he has thrived as the lead ball handler and playmaker.

The third-year point guard is putting up career-high numbers across the board for a Pacers team that has been more competitive in the early going than many predicted. Currently 7-6 on the season, Indiana looks like they will be in the mix for a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference and Haliburton is a major reason why.

The Iowa State product is averaging 20.5 points on an impressive .483/.429/857 shooting split to go along with 10.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 34.2 minutes per game. The assists per game are currently leading the league as he has had some big assist games.

LATEST NBA NEWS: Tyrese Haliburton & Indiana Pacers Updates

Haliburton has handed out double-digit assists in nine out of the 12 games that he has played this season. That number is currently topping the NBA, as the next closest players are Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, who are tied with six apiece.

Indiana has surrounded Haliburton with excellent shotmakers, which is helping him when it comes to the assists department. The team currently has the sixth-highest 3-point shooting percentage in the NBA as Haliburton is creating open looks regularly for his teammates.

Bennedict Mathurin, Buddy Hield and Andrew Nembhard are all shooting over 40 percent on 3-pointers along with Haliburton, which will certainly aid his assist numbers. Indiana’s ownership was excited about what Haliburton could bring to the table as the lead playmaker and he has not disappointed.

LATEST NBA NEWS: Tyrese Haliburton & Indiana Pacers Updates

This is a youthful team with a lot of upside and if Haliburton continues playing at this level, they are going to surprise a lot of people.