Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton named starter for 2024 NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — The last time the Pacers hosted an All-Star Game at the Hoosier Dome in 1985, they didn't have an All-Star of their own. They were in the midst of a 13-year run without one and they were on their way to a 22-60 season.

They were still two years from drafting Reggie Miller, the man who would be their next All-Star in 1990.

This year, however, they will have an ambassador, not only on the Eastern Conference All-Star roster, but in the starting lineup for the game on Feb. 18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The face of the Pacers' franchise, point guard Tyrese Haliburton, was named one of the starting Eastern Conference guards when the All-Star starters were announced on Thursday.

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Haliburton is the first Pacers player since Paul George in 2016 to be named an All-Star starter. Haliburton and George are two of four Pacers to ever be named starters. The other two were Jermaine O'Neal and Miller. George was named a starter twice in 2014 and '16. O'Neal was named a starter three times in 2003, '04 and '06.

"Being named a starter is a big deal," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said in his pre-game press conference, speaking generally because the team hadn't been formally announced. "It just puts you in another class, in another category. The fact that it's three groups, fans and media and players, makes it even more meaningful."

Haliburton, who is out with a strained left hamstring, did not speak with the media after the game but posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account about his selection at about 12:30 a.m. Friday morning.

"I’m an All-Star Starter, man," he posted. "Been sitting here soaking this in, like damn I wasn’t supposed to be here, but I put in the work, it was written! To my peers, the media, and the fans…This can’t happen without y’all. Look forward to putting on another show in Indy."

Haliburton earned his first All-Star nod last season, when he averaged 20.7 points and 10.4 assists per game. After signing a five-year max contract extension that could be worth as much as $260 million and playing with Team USA in the FIBA World Cup last summer, Haliburton has taken his game up a notch this year, averaging 23.6 points and an NBA-leading 12.6 assists per game. He's also averaging 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game and shooting 49.6% from the floor, 40% from 3-point range and 86.2% from the free-throw line.

He grabbed the basketball world's attention by leading the Pacers to the finals of the inaugural In-Season Tournament before they lost to the Lakers, and he was named to the event's All-Tournament team along with four likely future Hall-of-Famers in LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant.

Haliburton is expected to miss at least the next two games with a strained left hamstring. In the seven games he's missed so far, the Pacers are 3-4, but they are still in playoff position at 24-20 in a tie with the Heat for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Haliburton was the fourth-leading fan vote getter among all Eastern Conference players behind the three selected as frontcourt starters — Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia's Joel Embiid and Boston's Jayson Tatum. The other East guard is Milwaukee's Damian Lillard. The starters were determined by a combination of the fan vote, players vote and a vote among selected media members. The fan vote accounted for 50% and the players and media vote 25% each. Haliburotn finished first among Eastern Conference guards in all three.

Antetokounmpo, the two-time MVP and leading vote getter among all players, ranks third in the NBA in scoring with 31.3 points per game and fifth in rebounds with 11.7 per game. Against the Pacers in December he set the Bucks franchise record with 64 points in a game — which led to a scuffle over who got the game ball.

Embiid, the reigning MVP, leads the league in scoring with 36.1 points per game and on Monday night set the 76ers franchise record with 70 points in a game. Tatum is ninth in the NBA in scoring with 27.0 points per game and his Celtics have the best record in the NBA at 34-10.

James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer and a four-time MVP, led all Western Conference players in fan votes. At age 39, he's still averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game. Denver's Nikola Jokic and Durant are the other two Western Conference All-Stars. Jokic, the two-time MVP and reigning Finals MVP, is averaging nearly a triple-double with 26.2 points, 12.0 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game. The 35-year-old Durant is averaging 29.6 points per game in his first full season with Phoenix.

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Dallas' Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were named the Western Conference's starting guards. Doncic is second in the NBA in scoring with 33.6 points per game. Gilgeous-Alexander averages 31.1 points, 6.4 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game.

The All-Star reserves will be announced on Feb. 1 and will be chosen by the coaches.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NBA All-Star Game: Tyrese Haliburton named starter for game in Indy