NBA Draft 2020: Why Tyrese Haliburton could be the steal of the draft

Offensive Ability/Basketball IQ

Haliburton showed during his time at Iowa State that he had no problem scoring around the rim or from behind the arc. On many occasions he would take and make jumpers from well behind the college three-point line, proving that he has the ability to make an immediate impact at the NBA level.

It should be noted that even though Haliburton was able to successfully score at the college level, concern has developed over the viability of his unorthodox shooting form at the next level. Even though this is a fair concern, as we have seen other unorthodox jump shots fail in the NBA, Haliburton has the tools to be different.

One of his main offensive scoring strengths is his ability to score in catch and shoot situations. While his jump shot is unorthodox looking from the outside in, Haliburton has found confidence to shoot from anywhere on the floor, at an effective percentage, if given even a sliver of space.

Aiding his ability to shoot is his high basketball IQ and passing ability. As a passer, Haliburton has no problem finding the open man and getting his teammates involved even if this means sending passes cross-court or while in the air.

Being no stranger to difficult passes, Haliburton separates himself from other guards because of his ability to take care of the basketball while also consistently getting his teammates involved. Mitigating turnovers is an essential skill every high level guard has and during his time at Iowa State, Haliburton was known for his ability to take calculated risks in the passing game.

These risks paid dividends for himself and his teammates as he touted a 4:1 and 2:1 AST to TOV ratio during his freshman and sophomore season, respectively. By having the ability to limit turnovers and pass at a high level, Haliburton opens up the rest of his offensive game.

Having the tools to both pass and shoot when handling the ball will help create holes in the defense and help Haliburton generate open looks for both himself and his teammates, regardless of his release.

These skills, will continue to improve as he develops in the NBA which could make him more valuable than the other guards at the top of the lottery, long term.