Tyrese Haliburton, two-time point guard for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, was absolutely involved during his team’s surprise run to Game 7 of the NBA Finals last summer.
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Thanks to the Pacers team reaching that final series against the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder, Haliburton’s restraint on social media and phone use had reached the point where he avoided all news — with one exception.
Now, ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne has revealed what that exception is, during a new episode of “NBA Today.”
“During the finale, I remember asking Tyrese Haliburton if he stays on social media? Does he turn off his phone?” said Haliburton. “And he said, ‘Yeah, except I kind of scroll through and find out what’s going on in WWE from week to week.’ As if everything else is blocked, except that he continues to struggle. That’s how he’s wired.”
A self-confessed WWE superfan, the 6-foot-5 Iowa State product was recently seen at “WWE SummerSlam” at Meadowlands, New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
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The 25-year-old served as an offensive pivot to help Indiana advance to the final for the first time in a quarter of a century.
After a rough start to the 2024-25 season, Haliburton finished strong. He ultimately averaged 18.6 points with .473/.388/.851 shooting times, 9.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks in 73 games per contest.
Haliburton first struggled with a calf injury and then, more tragically, a torn Achilles tendon in Game 7 that blunted his scoring stats somewhat during the playoffs. In 23 playoff games for the Pacers this spring and summer, he averaged 17.3 points while slashing .463/.340/.828, 8.6 dimes, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 shots and 0.7 rejections per game.
While Haliburton could be out for the Pacers’ entire 2025-26 season due to his Achilles injury, the 25-year-old will look to pick up where he left off in 2026-27.
He’ll join a Pacers team that will have to figure out what it’s doing with its starting center position, after 3-and-D big free man Myles Turner defected to the Milwaukee Bucks on a four-year, $108.9 million contract this summer.
For now, former starting shooting guard Andrew Nembhard will supplant Haliburton as Indiana’s Haliburton replacement at the starting point guard position.
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