Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton arrived at the 2024 NBA All-Star Tip-Off party in style – rolling up in an IndyCar bearing the team’s colors.
Haliburton pulled up to the event in downtown Indianapolis – not far from the site of the famous Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Brickyard 400.
He was chauffeured by IndyCar driver Conor Daly in a yellow and black car to start off the weekend’s festivities.
The 23-year-old guard is set to participate in multiple events during All-Star weekend including the Kia Skills Challenge – with teammates Bennedict Mathurin and Myles Turner – and most notably his second consecutive All-Star game.
Haliburton has been putting together one of the best seasons in the NBA this year with a career-high average of 21.8 points and a league-leading 11.7 assists per game.
He has helped the Pacers become one of the surprise breakout teams this year in only his second full season in Indiana after being acquired in a trade from the Sacramento Kings where he spent the first season-and-a-half of his NBA career.
Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton arrived at the 2024 NBA All-Star Tip-Off in an IndyCar
Haliburton, Tamika Catchings(L), Larry Bird (second L), and others took part in the event
Despite battling hamstring issues this season, Haliburton has led the Pacers to a 31-25 record which currently puts them sixth in the Eastern Conference.
He recently joined former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick’s podcast and admitted that if it was not for the NBA’s new rule then he would not have rushed back from injury.
Regulations require players to participate in 65 games – and log at least 21 minutes in those games – in order to be eligible for post season awards, including being named to one of the All-NBA teams.
If Haliburton is named to one of the three All-NBA teams his max contract that kicks in next season will be worth around $260million – as opposed to $206m.
Haliburton has a career-high average of 21.8 points and a league-leading 11.7 assists per game
Haliburton recently admitted to rushing back from a hamstring strain due to new NBA rules
‘No question,’ Haliburton said when asked by Redick if he felt a sense of urgency to return and if the ”$53 million incentive’ had anything to do with when he returned to the court.
‘Yeah, what?’ Haliburton said. ‘I thought I was ready to go for the Portland game. So did our medical staff.
‘Everybody agreed. But if this was never the case, I might have been like, “Give it another game or two. Maybe think more through this. Let’s try to be 100 per cent.”‘
After returning from his injury, Haliburton was restricted to 23 minutes in his first four games back on the court in order to make sure he did not reaggravate the injury, before ramping things up to 30 and eventually 34 minutes.
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