Tyrese Haliburton, the 'prom king' of NBA All-Star weekend
INDIANAPOLIS -- One minute, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton was on a podium in the bowels of Gainbridge Fieldhouse doing a press conference as part of All-Star Media Day, and minutes later his face was on the televisions in the media work room as he'd moved on to yet another interview on the NBA TV set in the atrium between Pennsylvania and Delaware Streets.
The demand on Haliburton's time since Thursday has been constant on a minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour basis, but obviously, that's an assignment he took on willingly. He is the bright young face of the franchise that is hosting the All-Star Game for the first time since 1985, so he's the face of All-Star Weekend.
And that means for four days, he has to be everywhere all the time. It started with the Tip-Off Ceremony. He arrived in style in an Indy car then left that to go north to the Vogue for a live recording of ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski's podcast. He attended the Celebrity Game on Friday night and then to the Rising Stars challenge, where he sat courtside and took a headset as an announcer for the championship game, seeing teammate Bennedict Mathurin win the MVP. And on Saturday night he'll participate in two All-Star Saturday Night events before finally playing in the game on Sunday.
"It's been a zoo," Haliburton said in Saturday's press conference. "It's been a lot, but it's been a lot of fun. I've been told I'm kind of like the prom king of the weekend, so just doing whatever I'm asked to do."
He's busy, but he also can't say he's not enjoying it. He's excellent on a microphone, so he's had fun with a lot of the media interactions and he clearly seemed to be enjoying himself on the Rising Stars broadcast. After Mathurin scored 18 of Team Jalen's 40 points in the semifinal game, but then shared the ball with somebody else early in the finals, Haliburton asked, "He passed?"
He then noted that he does look to get the ball in Mathurin's hand and that he wants him to shoot and shoot quickly, but convincing Mathurin to try and score is never a difficult thing.
Haliburton also got a kick out of some of the spectacle he was asked to be involved in, especially his appearance at the NBA 2K League Showdown, a basketball video gaming event, as he has always been big into gaming.
"That was fun because I've always grown up playing the game," Haliburton said. "There's a lot of YouTubers there that I grew up watching, so it was cool to see those guys for, sure."
The event also allows Haliburton to spend time around his peers, and also among the game's slightly older stars who have come to respect him as an equal. He's developed a close relationship with Clippers forward Paul George, the former Pacers star who was the last Indiana player before Haliburton to start in the All-Star Game. Haliburton appeared on George's podcast this summer and George has constantly praised Haliburton for his development as a player.
"He's one of the best at just managing games, taking over games and playmaking," George said during his press availability. "For how young he is, his game is so polished. He's very impressive. Very, very impressive."
George also said that Haliburton's a perfect fit to be the face of the franchise in the city where he once held that title.
"He has a huge personality," George said. "It's very easy to market him. It's perfect for the market in Indiana to have a face like Tyrese. Great kid. I think Indiana has found their star for a really long time."
That means a lot to Haliburton, who is getting used to being around superstars now, but never was growing up. He was, as he put it, a "no-star" recruit until he committed to Iowa State just before his senior season at Oshkosh North High School in Wisconsin and he was immediately considered a three-star. He led Oshkosh North to a state title that year, however, and after two seasons with the Cyclones, was a lottery pick.
"It means the world," Haliburton said. "I think the respect that I've gained from my peers and legends means the world to me. Just to keep meeting people where I'm from, that's not really a thing. There's no chance that they even know where Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is. So it means the world to me. I just want to continue to keep doing what I'm doing and gaining people's respect."
Though he's the prom king this weekend, he's still looking for more ways to add to that respect. He badly wants to make Team USA for the Paris Olympics next summer. He was asked if his recent hamstring strain after playing with Team USA in the FIBA World Cup last summer made him re-think playing internationally again. His answer was that it absolutely hasn't.
"My goal is to play for USA until the wheels fall off," Haliburton said. "If I get that call to go, I'll be there."
He's also trying to add an All-Star Saturday Night title to his trophy case. He had the best score in the first round of the 3-Point Shootout last year but faltered in the finals, and he's back again to try to take it the distance this time. And he's participating in the Skills Challenge with Mathurin and teammate Myles Turner.
"Going into the Skills contest, I have no idea what that entails," Haliburton said. "Looking forward to finding that out. I do think what we have over people is chemistry because we're all together all the time.
"The 3-Point Contest, just don't choke. Last year I had a legendary first round, and then I think I got iced a little bit. That might be the reason. But I was terrible the second round. Just some consistency this year, and hopefully I can pull off the W."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tyrese Haliburton enjoying being 'prom king' of NBA All-Star weekend
