"The whole time": Tyrese Haliburton explains Giannis Antetokounmpo game ball fiasco in depth, finally reveals who has it
Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers infamously engaged in a December postgame altercation with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks over a game ball. However, according to Haliburton, it was all a misunderstanding.
The incident occurred after Antetokounmpo scored a career-high and franchise-record 64 points during Milwaukee’s 140-126 home victory over Indiana on Dec. 13. After the game, the two-time MVP tried to corral the game ball as a remembrance of his historic performance.
Antetokounmpo thought that the Pacers took it to give to rookie center Oscar Tshiebwe for scoring his first NBA point. This prompted the eight-time All-Star to furiously attempt to retrieve it.
The altercation made headlines, with many, including Antetokounmpo, questioning who secured the official game ball vs. who got the backup ball.
On “The Old Man and The Three” podcast with former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick, Tyrese Haliburton cleared up what happened. According to the two-time All-Star, the Pacers never took the game ball, so the Bucks had it throughout the altercation.
“I think one of our assistants, Mike Weinar, had the basketball. Had a basketball, not the basketball, a basketball. He walked off with it and I think Giannis saw it, but they had the ball the whole time, which has been proven this whole time,” Haliburton said. ... “We never had the ball. The ball was never in our possession.”
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Antetokounmpo ultimately went home with the game ball, but it appears that the whole ordeal could have easily been avoided.
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Tyrese Haliburton says Giannis Antetokounmpo made Milwaukee a premier free-agent destination
Indiana and Milwaukee appear to have a brewing rivalry. The Pacers won four of five games against the Bucks this season, including eliminating them from the NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals in December. Meanwhile, the two sides exchanged plenty of trash talk throughout their matchups.
However, Tyrese Haliburton still has an appreciation for what Giannis Antetokounmpo has accomplished with the Bucks.
During his “The Old Man and the Three” podcast appearance, Haliburton touched on how Antetokounmpo has taken Milwaukee from an afterthought to a premier free-agent destination.
“I grew up in Wisconsin, and the Bucks were never cool, like, nobody cared about the Bucks,” Haliburton said. “And then Giannis came and now they have one of the biggest players in the NBA. Now players want to go play with them and dudes are taking pay cuts to play for the Bucks because they win championships.”
The Pacers star added that he hopes to make a similar impact on Indiana.
“People are like, ‘Well, you’ll never be able to get people to want to come play with you.’ But for me, it was always like, if I’m good enough, people will come play,” Haliburton said.
Antetokounmpo has led the Bucks to seven straight playoff appearances, winning the 2021 NBA title. Meanwhile, Haliburton has yet to make his first playoff appearance.
However, the Pacers (31-25, sixth in the Eastern Conference) appear poised to secure a playoff berth this season. So, the 23-year-old should have a prime opportunity to prove himself on the national stage come April.
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