Sports
Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton's star rising after stellar In-Season Tournament – NBA.com
Indiana budding superstar dazzles in the Tournament, averaging 26.7 points and 13.3 assists in 7 games.
W.G. Ramirez | The Associated Press
Steve Smith sits down with Tyrese Haliburton to discuss his motivation, leadership and the Pacers' run in the NBA In-Season Tournament.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton just wants to win.
He doesn’t care about his stats, he doesn’t want to be put in any conversations regarding All-Star teams, and he certainly isn’t interested in talks about being an MVP candidate.
He just wants to win.
And while it may not have happened Saturday night, when the Los Angeles Lakers beat Indiana 123-109 in the inaugural In-Season Tournament championship game, the rest of the league should be on notice about Haliburton and Pacers.
“I think last year we snuck up on teams, teams didn’t really know what to expect,” said Haliburton, who had 20 points and 11 assists. “But I think now when you play the Pacers you know what to expect. … Obviously, people didn’t expect us to get here, the championship game, but I think teams are prepared for us.”
Indiana gets back to the regular season Monday night with the league’s No. 1 offense, which is averaging 128.4 points, led by Haliburton who is averaging 26.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and a league-high 12.1 assists.
And whether he likes it or not, those numbers have him almost assuredly on his way to a second straight All-Star appearance and have placed him in early-season MVP chatter.
In seven tournament games, he led all players who made it to the final with an average of 26.7 points per game on 52.4% shooting, and had 13.3 assists per contest.
“Tyrese is a great young player that has all the tools, has the personality and has the desire,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “The month, seven weeks that he’s put together so far in this season, people are talking about him for MVP, and rightly so.
“He was completely unfazed by the limelight and it brought his game to a higher level (during tournament games). Like Reggie Miller, he’s very similar to him. Body type stature, personality, and just overall character. He wants the responsibility for winning and losing. And he wants it unconditionally, and that’s special.”
Special enough that NBA commissioner Adam Silver loved the championship storyline of having one of the most storied players in NBA history — LeBron James — facing a young team with a budding star who’s just beginning to author his story.
“I think fans on a national level forget that he was an All-Star last year, so he has been recognized already as a top player,” Silver said.
Just don’t tell him that.
“People have said MVP, or all-NBA All Star or whatever,” Haliburton said. “But at the end of the day I just want to play basketball and I want to succeed as a team. I know (with) the team’s success, individual success comes with that.
“So I think that that’s been something that I really enjoyed about our run right now, is that it’s forced the media to talk about what’s in front of them, which is basketball. And I think as a person who loves the sport, I think everybody can appreciate that.”
The NBA commissioner also touches on the league's desire to honor David Stern, Ja Morant's impending return, the new media rights deal and more.
Tournament has had the combination of an All-Star Game feel along with playoff atmosphere intensity.
The two stars have kept their respective team undefeated throughout the In-Season Tournament.
Anthony Davis dominates, Tyrese Haliburton proves his worth as a franchise player and the league scores a win as L.A. caps off a successful tournament.
The NBA commissioner also touches on the league's desire to honor David Stern, Ja Morant's impending return, the new media rights deal and more.
Tournament has had the combination of an All-Star Game feel along with playoff atmosphere intensity.
The two stars have kept their respective team undefeated throughout the In-Season Tournament.
Anthony Davis dominates, Tyrese Haliburton proves his worth as a franchise player and the league scores a win as L.A. caps off a successful tournament.
RotoWire breaks down the top Yahoo daily fantasy players at each position for Wednesday's 9-game NBA slate.
Under the deal, the Thunder agree to stay in Oklahoma City through at least 2050.
The No. 1 overall picks — drafted 20 years apart — will battle this week in San Antonio.
The No. 1 overall pick continues to shine bright as the Spurs search for wins.
Doncic accounted for 76 total points in Mavericks win over Lakers. Suns backcourt of Beal and Booker is 1-0.
Chicago will honor past players, coaches and front office staff who helped shape the organization in a 'first-of-its-kind celebration.'
If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page.
NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLC’s Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network
