Tyrese Haliburton reveals moment he realized he had NBA gene: “I think I got a chance"

There are a ton of talented youngsters in the NBA right now and one of them is Tyrese Haliburton, who has emerged as a facilitator for the Indiana Pacers with star potential. Now, he's suited up for Team USA to represent his country in the FIBA World Cup 2023.

Haliburton had a chance to talk about his experience prior to making it to the league through Podcast P with Paul George. He detailed his relationship with the current stars of the NBA who he played with back in 2019 when he was part of the US U19 team.

"I know there's been a lot of great USA teams, but like, that U19 team probably one of the best U19 teams, probably ever. It was like, me, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs," Haliburton said.

"We had the whole top five from two years of the draft. If there was 12 of us, on the team, I think 11 of us had played in the NBA. Our average margin of victory was probably 40 out there. But I just remember thinking like, 'If these dudes are NBA players, so am I,'" he added.

"When I got there, I didn't know anybody. But I do know Jalen Green from Ballislife and YouTube, and Cade, all those guys. I got out there, me and Cade, we really hit it off," Haliburton continued. "Still one of my boys to this day, we're really close. From there, we was competing hard as s*** in practice. Us two were just guarding each other the whole time, and I was like, 'I think I got a chance,' and from there, we won and I was like, 'Yeah, I'm going to the NBA, ain't nobody can tell me nothing.'"

He helped the Americans win gold and averaged 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 6.9 assists throughout the course of the tournament.

You might also be interested in reading this: "HALI is COOKING in Abu Dhabi": Tyrese Haliburton bringing out his clutch gene vs Germany has NBA fans going wild

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Who were the other NBA stars that played with Tyrese Haliburton in 2019?

Team USA's U19 team in 2019 was stacked with future star talent. As mentioned by Tyrese Haliburton, the roster boasted future NBA stars who later on got drafted into the league.

The roster comprised Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Kira Lewis Jr., Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, and Ziaire Williams.

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Looking at the roster, the team was bound to win since they had incredible talent. Even though Haliburton is the only player who has reached All-Star status, others shouldn't be overlooked. The others are capable of helping out big time and some can be future All-Stars in the league.

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