Who Is Tyrese Haliburton? Everything to Know About the Indiana Pacers' All-Star
As the NBA Finals begin, let's take a look at the Indiana Pacers' best-known star.
We've officially reached the grand finale of the 2024-2025 NBA season, and it all comes to down to this: the NBA Finals. After a hard-fought playoffs, only two teams remain, and tonight, the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder begin their best-of-7 series in a battle for the NBA Championship.
If you're a casual basketball fan, this might be the time you're thinking of tuning in, which means you might be getting used to some new names. Both Indiana and OKC have young stars leading their teams, names that aren't quite as widely known as LeBron James or Steph Curry yet. In the case of the Pacers, that young star is 25-year-old point guard Tyrese Haliburton. So, as the Finals begin, let's take a little time to get to know him.
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Who is the Indiana Pacers' point guard Tyrese Haliburton?
Haliburton is a rare Leap Day Baby for the NBA, as he was born February 29, 2000 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to parents John and Brenda Haliburton. From a very early age, Haliburton was fascinated by basketball. His father, who coached a local middle school girls team, recalled his toddler son demanding to come with him to practice every day, where he would practice dribbling while the girls team went through their drills.
“He was too young to play, but he wouldn’t let me tie my shoes,” John Halliburton told NBA.com. “I couldn’t go without him. I’m talkin’ 3 years old. He would take a girls’ ball and dribble that thing. I would be working with some of the girls and the others would be watching Tyrese. Or some of the other parents would come just to babysit. I never asked! They were drawn to Ty — he had that personality as a little kid.”
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But it wasn't just a child's fixation. Haliburton stuck with basketball, playing in youth leagues throughout childhood, often playing with older kids because of his height (he would eventually grow to 6 feet, 5 inches), and often playing big man positions like center, at least until one coach let him try point guard, where he's been ever since.
“I view that as a big responsibility,” Halliburton said of his position. “I feel like I have the power to help other guys succeed because I have the ball. Empower him to make shots, empower him to move on from mistakes. But I also feel like I have the power to take that away if I’m letting my emotions get the best of me or I’m frustrated. For me, the biggest thing was learning how to lead the right way.”
In high school, Haliburton was a star for the Oshkosh North High School Spartans, earning All-Fox Valley Association (FVA) honors in his sophomore year, then leading his team to an undefeated regular season as a junior, falling just short of the state tournament in the playoffs. By his senior year, the Spartans had everything they needed to go all the way, and in addition to a state championship, Haliburton earned a number of individual honors, including Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Wisconsin.
For college ball, Haliburton committed to the Iowa State Cyclones, where he was named an All-Big 12 player in his sophomore season despite a wrist injury that cut the year short. By the end of his second season at Iowa State, he was ready to move on, and declared for the NBA Draft, where he was selected 12th overall by the Sacramento Kings.
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Entering the league in the fall of 2020, Haliburton was named to the All-Rookie Team in his first season, and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. Though he started his second season in Sacramento, he was traded to Indiana during the 2021-2022 season, and he's been a Pacer ever since.
In Indiana, Haliburton's story has been one of continued growth as a star in the league. In 2023, during his first full season with the Pacers, he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time. In the 2023-2024 season, he led the NBA in assists per game, earned his second All-Star selection, and led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to eventual champions the Boston Celtics.
Now, after winning his second trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, Haliburton is poised to lead the Pacers to a championship, if they can get past a very talented, tough OKC team, led by their own star point guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
How to watch the NBA on NBC and Peacock this fall
The NBA Finals mark the end of this season of basketball, but the next season is already fast approaching, and for the first time in two decades, you'll get to catch the action on NBC. The NBA on NBC returns to the network this October, with Peacock-exclusive games streaming on Monday nights, and Tuesday primetime games on NBC. And in 2026, at the conclusion of the upcoming season of Sunday Night Football, NBC will launch Sunday Night Basketball, a brand-new series featuring NBA action to close out your weekend.
