"I wasn’t supposed to be here": Tyrese Haliburton embraces All-Star starter role, promises more showmanship
The NBA has released the names of the starters for the upcoming All-Star game, revealing that Tyrese Haliburton will be a first-time starter. As such, he gets the honor of representing the Indiana Pacers for the All-Star weekend festivities, which will be hosted at his homecourt, the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
This isn't Haliburton's first All-Star selection as coaches voted him in to be a reserve last year. However, being voted as a starter is undoubtedly an even bigger honor.
In an X post, Tyrese Haliburton showed that he recognizes the importance of this milestone and the hard work that he had to put in to achieve it. He also took the time to credit the work he has put in while also thanking the people who helped make it happen and promising to do more for the Pacers.
"I’m an All-Star Starter, man. 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." He added on the second part of his post. "Look forward to putting on another show in Indy."
Also read: 2024 NBA All-Star starters announced: Listing Eastern and Western Conferences' top 10 vote-getters.
Tyrese Haliburton got more votes than Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson to be named All-Star starter
Tyrese Haliburton will be sharing the starting backcourt spot with the Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard after getting 3,377,405 fan votes, 133 player votes, and 97 media votes, making him the number-one-ranked guard in the Eastern Conference in all three voting categories.
Haliburton undoubtedly deserves all the recognition he is receiving this season as he has led the Pacers to a 25-20 record (sixth in the East). He has combined his fantastic on-court vision and tremendous IQ to lead the league in assists with 428. Additionally, he is also the league's leader in assists per game with an average of 12.6 per contest.
By combining his passing with his scoring, he has shown the league that he can lead an offense in more ways than one as he has averaged 23.6 ppg.
Due to his contributions to his team, Haliburton has also put himself forward for consideration as one of the most valuable players this season. As per NBA.com's most recent MVP ladder report (Jan. 20), he is ninth in the ladder just ahead of Kawhi Leonard and behind Anthony Davis.
Tyrese Haliburton has certainly had a great breakout year thus far after being handed the keys to the Pacers' offense. The team's fans are certainly excited about what this young player can do as he develops as a player and leader.