Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers were one of the surprise stories of the 2023-24 NBA season, as their run to the conference finals was something very few saw coming. Entering the 2024-25 season, the Pacers won’t surprise anyone in the East, and with Pascal Siakam getting a full offseason in Indiana after arriving in a trade from Toronto, expectations are to reach the playoffs once again and see if they can make some more noise from there.
For Haliburton in particular, this summer was a busy one, as he was part of the Team USA squad that won gold in Paris. Going from a deep playoff run to the Olympics shortens the offseason considerably, but that’s a challenge the two-time All-Star is very happy to deal with. Ahead of the start of the Pacers season last week, we got a chance to hop on a Zoom call with Haliburton on behalf of Call of Duty to talk about the release of Black Ops 6, which he and Team USA got to play early in France, what that Team USA experience was like, his excitement for this season, building more chemistry with Siakam, and making his WWE debut earlier this year with Jalen Brunson.
What was your biggest takeaway from the postseason run last year, getting that experience going to the conference finals, seeing what that journey is beyond 82 games, and trying to get deep into the 16-game season and what that takes, for you personally and for the Pacers as a team?
Yeah, I think my biggest takeaway, for me personally, was just that man, winning is hard. It’s not easy, and it’s definitely something that I don’t want to take for granted, because it’s not going to be easy to get back to do that. And I’ve heard that from, you know, a lot of older guys I was with during the Olympics. Don’t take it for granted, because you think when you’re young and you have success, that it’s just easy to repeat. It’s not easy. It’s not going to be easy, but that’s why we play this game. So that was my biggest takeaway, is just understand what it really takes to win, and the physical toll, but the mental toll and all those things on your body to play high level basketball. So all those things are important and it’s somthing I’m taking the account going into this year.
A big difference coming into this year compared to last year is you get a full offseason with Pascal in the building. What is the difference in having that full camp and offseason, rather than having a guy come in mid-season and kind of having to figure it out on the fly? And what are you hopeful that you two can build on in terms of playing together and off of each other?
Yeah, I think people underestimate how hard it is to get traded in the middle of the year and go to a team and have this instant connection and success, when we are both obviously two of the top guys on our respective teams and coming together and having to figure out how to play alongside each other and how to get the best of each other. I think going into a new year where we’ve had a year to be together, we get more time in the summer and more time in preseason to grow that chemistry, it’s really big for us. And I’m just looking forward to this year, because I think we really barely scratched the surface on what our connection could be last year, and I’m looking forward to this year, because I think just more time together will just make things easier and make the connection grow stronger. So I’m really looking forward to the year and playing alongside him for a full year.
He is such a unique player in his skill set, what was it like playing with him? And what were the things that that you saw out of him that kind of excites you about what you two can do in terms of complementing each other’s games?
Yeah, I think just finding where our spots are. Like you said, he’s such an interesting player. He’s one of the most elite post-up players in our game. So a lot of times for him to score, he kind of does it himself, because he’s so good in the post, but I think just figuring out how I can screen for him better, how I can get him open, the plays that I can run to get him in positions to succeed. And then think vice versa, how I can use him and his unique abilities to get myself open, and just how we can get the best out of each other. And honestly, it’s hard to just speak about that and figure it out, and it’s way different than to go through it and understand like, ‘Oh, these are the plays that get us both going.’ So it just takes time, and I think we’ve been allowed that, it’s why I think the relationship will blossom.
You already touched a little bit on it with being on Team USA this summer. And basically anybody that I’ve ever talked to that has been on an Olympic team has talked about how there’s nothing like it. What was that experience like for you?
Yeah, I mean, you kind of alluded to it. There really is nothing like it. I mean, unbelievable experience to play with a lot of guys I’ve looked up to my whole life, and sort of play alongside them and learn from them and get to know them more on a personal level, was a lot of fun for me. And I mean, there really is nothing like wearing USA across your chest and representing something much, much bigger than you. Just a lot of fun being out there with with those guys, and capturing something that’s just very elusive and not many people can say they have done, winning a gold medal. So it was really a lot of fun for me.
What does being on a team with 11 of the other best players in the world for multiple months and working with them and getting to see how they work and kind of getting to pick their brains, do for you as a player? And what are you excited to kind of be able to put in to what you’ve already done to get to this point?
I mean, for any player, and I think that it can help you mature a lot, and can help you see kind of the bigger picture. Because you see how these guys work, and you hear things about how guys take care of their bodies and do all these things, but to be around them, ask them the real why behind it, what they do. And get to know them more on a personal level, because I think at the end of the day, the NBA is a brotherhood and there’s only 450 of us, and so I think guys have no problems sharing their knowledge of the game and passing that on to the next generation. And so for me, just asking a ton of questions, getting to learn a lot, was really important. And I just will take every bit piece from that to give me more success going into this year.
And while you were over there, you got an early look at [Call of Duty] Black Ops 6. What was it like getting an early look at the game and what can you say about this latest edition of the game as it gets set to release this week?
Yeah, we had a lot of fun. Thankfully, we as a team, we were some of the first people in the world to play Black Ops 6 in our in our hotel in our pool play games, and it was a lot of fun. Me and KD sat in there for a while, and he had his boy, and I had my boy, and we’re just playing against each other and talking shit, and getting to just enjoy playing Call of Duty like everybody else does. We had a ton of fun getting to play on a couple different maps and kind of the early beginning stages. My brother is an avid Call of Duty player, so I FaceTimed him and let him watch me play and see, and he was really excited about that. So I’m just really excited for the masses to get to play it, and, you know, for the rest of my life, I’ll get to brag that I was one of the first people to play the game. And I just have a ton of fun with it, because Call of Duty is something that I’ve been playing since I was a kid, and something that’s always allowed me to connect to people and connect with my brother, because we’ve always enjoyed playing the game together. So, it’s something I definitely like to do in my free time, and something that just just always brings me back to my roots.
Who are the guys that you kind of play with across the league or on the Pacers? Like, when you get a chance to sit down and and get on the sticks, who are your go-tos to hop in into a game with?
In terms of guys in the NBA, like, I don’t really play a ton with guys in the NBA, because my time to play the game is a great time for me to get away from them. Does that make sense? So a lot of times, when I get on Call of Duty, it’s literally me, my little brother, and some friends from home that I don’t get to see as much, because that’s really our only time to really connect. So we do that a lot. Cause it’s just a fun way to connect, and you only get so much time in your day to really talk to those guys and guys that really have been with you since the jump. So, we get to play on the game, it’s time for us all to connect, and, you know, give us a little bit of teamwork to win games and stuff like that. So my little brother is the mainstay in my gaming world, but everybody else kind of it comes and goes, and we kind of just feel off the vibe of how we’re feeling.
I feel like with where gaming has gone, and the ability to kind of play anywhere and with anyone — I mean, you mentioned you were in France and could FaceTime your brother and let him see it — how cool is that as an athlete that’s on the road and has kind of a unique schedule, that there are ways it can help you kind of connect with with those folks that you might not get to see on on quite as regular of a basis as maybe you’d like to?
Yeah, that’s the amazing part about it. I mean, when I travel on the road, I always have my game with me. It’s just an awesome thing for me, because, like I said, it allows me to disconnect from the world a little bit and just enjoy myself. You know, it’s kind of a mental release for me, even in the Call of Duty gamesthat can be hectic and there’s a lot of trash talk and competitiveness that comes with it, but I really enjoy it, just because it, like I said, takes me back to my roots, man. It’s really like a mental release for me, even when I’m having awful games, and even when I put the sticks off a little bit and I come back and I’m terrible, it’s still fun for me. And I think that’s the amazing part about gaming, and why so many people can connect behind it is because it doesn’t really matter, you know, what your height, weight, ability, all those things don’t really matter. It’s just, are you good on the sticks? And I think that’s fun part about it, just because everybody can connect behind it.
Another thing that you’ve been a longtime fan of is WWE and wrestling, and earlier this summer, you got chance to get in the WWE ring with Jalen Brunson in MSG. Was that like for you, and not just being a fan, but but being able to get get involved there and kind of feel that that juice in the building?
Man, it means the world. I’m like, I’m slowly starting to check off things in my life that I’ve always wanted to do. Getting in the WWE ring was cool. Would I love to be in a match? Of course, but I don’t know if my pain tolerance can withstand that, and I don’t know if the Pacers organization would necessarily allow that. But just like the relationship I have with WWE has been so amazing for me, because it’s similar to Call of Duty. Like, it’s something that I’ve done my whole life. I’ve been a fan of my whole life, so to be able to do that really means the world to me, and I can’t express that enough. Similar to the NBA as well, because at the end of the day, these are all things I loved to do when I was a kid, and I’m really just a big kid that happens to be a young adult. So that’s just something that means the world to me, and I’m slowly checking off things I’ve wanted to do as a kid in my life. And, yeah, WWE is definitely just a big part of that.
If you were to do a match, what would be your finisher in the ring?
Yeah, it’s a tough question. You know, I think growing up as a kid, it was always like a DDT headlock, like a submission move. But I don’t know if I got the technique for that right now. So I think I would love to jump off the top rope, but I got in the training ring when I was at NXT, and those heights were a little scary for me. So I don’t know, we’d have to figure it out. I think the easiest move right now would probably be a super kick. No, honestly, if Randy [Orton] would let me, I’d steal the RKO, because that move is just classic and fire. So if he let me borrow it for a little bit, that’d be my move for sure.
Is there a move you think you could take? Like, is there one you think you could sell properly, that you’re confident in?
A stunner. I could sell a stunner, high level. I could sell a super kick, pretty well, I think. Nothing off the top rope, because I don’t trust people landing on me. Yeah, nothing getting slammed. I’ll choose a stunner or super kick.