Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is one of the busiest individuals at the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Weekend.
Haliburton, who led Eastern Conference guards in All-Star votes from fans as well as media and players, earned an appearance as the starting point guard in the East for the All-Star Game.
The 23-year-old represents the Pacers, the hosts of NBA All-Star Weekend for the first time since 1985. He is just the fourth player in franchise history to ever make an appearance in the starting lineup of the All-Star Game. For the second year in a row, Haliburton will also participate in the Starry 3-point Contest.
Haliburton took some time to catch up with For The Win to discuss showing up to All-Star Weekend in an Indy car, the love he received from Larry Bird and Reggie Miller and more.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
I want to hear more about entering All-Star Weekend on an Indy car!
It was my second time jumping in an Indy car. I got to meet up with Conor Daly, who I have a relationship with and who I see all the time when I’m at the track whenever I go. He is always at our games. It shows what Indy is all about. We’re able to showcase things in our city that our city is known for because, obviously, racing is a big thing here.
It was cool to show up in an Indy car, and it was a nice touch to show love to your city and what it is known for. I thought it was exciting, and I told Conor that I’m excited for this summer to get back on the race track and go a little faster because we had to start and stop a little bit to be safe. But I’m excited to get on the real track this summer.
What responsibility do you feel representing Indiana as NBA All-Star Weekend hosts?
I’m just excited to be in front of the fans. I think that it’s cool that they feel like I’m someone who is representing them. I feel like it’s my responsibility when I walk outside of my house. All of these people are here for All-Star Weekend, and I’m the “Hoosier” representative. I think that is exciting for me and my family. I want to continue to show what we are capable of and what our great city is capable of as the hosts.
Larry Bird (and Reggie Miller) “passed the torch” to you as the face of Indiana hoops. What was your response?
Any time you get love from legends and the ones who came before you, it means the world. For me, in Indy, those are two of the biggest figures in the sport, and I got their stamp of approval. Those are people who I have relationships with, and I can get on the phone with them whenever I need to. I’m thankful I have those people in my life. Any time that legends show you love, you’ve got to listen and you’ve got to reflect on it. People probably don’t even know where I’m from. They’ve never even heard about Oshkosh, Wisconsin. So that is a cool thing about it.
Did criticism of your jumper inspire you to do the 3-point contest for the second year in a row?
All of the critiques about my jumper throughout my career, I think that’s the main motivation and why I want to win it. That’s exciting that I get to be here. Even now, people are still tweeting that I don’t get my shot off fast enough. It’s people like that where I have to ask: “Are you watching what I’m doing?” So I’m excited to participate in that.
What are you doing to cherish all of these once-in-a-lifetime memories?
I’m doing stuff that I love with companies that I love. I don’t want to just do any event. I want to do them with companies that align with what I align with. I want to create the time to reflect on and enjoy what I’m doing. I’m doing events and appearances, and I’m doing things that I enjoy. Journaling is the biggest thing for me. I’m able to write things down. There are so many little things. I don’t even remember what I ate for dinner yesterday. So I’m writing it down so one day, I can go back and reflect on it.
How do you choose which brands to align yourself with for events like these?
For example, I’m here at NBA Crossover. I’m excited for fans to come in all weekend and shoot at the Starry Arena for the chance to win cash prizes. Starry is doing the 3-point contest and I’m a participant so I’m excited to be partnered with Starry that way because It is one of my favorite, go-to sodas out there.
What advice would you give to a college athlete making NIL decisions?
It’s interesting because NIL is different from what I’m doing. When you’re a professional, you want your partnerships to be with brands that completely align with what you stand for and brands that you can see yourself using. I drink Starry all of the time. It’s a drink I enjoy. So that’s more true to me. But with NIL, you should also choose brands you align with. But sometimes, when you’re a college student, it’s about getting money at the same time. For me, it’s not as much about money as much as it is about companies that are within my ideal alignment. That’s the biggest difference.
