Tyrese Haliburton believes the Eastern Conference is finally better than the West originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The 2026 offseason has been quite eventful for the Eastern Conference. Jaylen Brown and LeBron James are now with the Philadelphia 76ers, Giannis Antetokounmpo is with the Miami Heat, and the New York Knicks are the defending champions.
It is one of the most loaded Eastern Conferences in a long time, and it could finally end the notion that the Western Conference is the better group. Now, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers believes that he is part of the stronger conference ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Tyrese Haliburton sees the Eastern Conference as being better than the Western Conference
With all the moves that happened this offseason and the Pacers' impending comeback with Haliburton, the East is quite challenging to play against. It is one of the most loaded Eastern Conferences in recent memory, which is refreshing due to the many years that the Western Conference has dominated the league.
There are plenty of teams that are ready to compete, as the likes of Philly, Miami, New York, and Indiana are all prepared. At the same time, teams like the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons are still ready to compete at a high level.
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A spot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs will be quite challenging for any team. The Pacers are among them, as they will want to surprise a lot of people by their return as one of the league's best teams after a year of struggles without Haliburton.
"Me and Bron talked about this on the pod… First time in my lifetime that the East is more interesting than the West... Philly could do it. Boston could do it. New York could do it. We could do it. Miami could do it. The Pistons could do it," Haliburton said about the Eastern Conference on an episode of the Numbers on the Board podcast.
It will be quite challenging for a team like the Pacers to pull off an impressive run. However, anything is possible when Haliburton is healthy, as most NBA fans saw during the magical 2025 postseason run when they made it just one game short of winning a championship.
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