Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton has amassed thousands of fans in his NBA career so far but he’s also gained a few haters as well. Former NBA guard Tim Hardaway Sr. is arguably Hali’s biggest hater and he made it known this week in a brutal and personal statement on the “Gil’s Arena” podcast.
“If I go back and suit up, I wanna go f*** up Tyrese Haliburton,” said Hardaway. “He talks so much s***. I wanna go back and bust his motherf***ing a**. He thinks he all that.”
It didn’t take long for Haliburton to discover the message and he responded accordingly. In a short but effective post, he shut down Hardaway Sr. and shed some light on the source of his hate, which stems from an old rivalry in the early 2000s.
“Tell the world the real reason you feel this way, Tim,” wrote Haliburton on X.
Haliburton’s response is a reference to what happened between Tim Hardaway and the Heat in 2000. That season, with averages of 14.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game, Hardaway had a major role in the rotation and helped lead his team to the second-best record in the East (50-32).
The Heat also had 6’6″ guard Eddie Jones out of Temple University. Jones, a 3x All-Star, moved to Miami in the summer of 2000 at 29 years old and he was effective in his role with averages of 17.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game on 44.5% shooting.
The NBA veterans were fine teammates at first but they turned on each other after Eddie was caught in an affair with Hardaway’s wife. The whole ordeal caused massive drama and Tim left the team that summer over the fallout it caused.
The incident happened roughly 25 years ago, but Hardaway continues to hold a grudge to this day. And as Jones’ younger cousin, it seems Tyrese Haliburton has inherited the beef.
At 24 years old, the young point guard is carrying a lot on his shoulders and he’s moving with confidence as he tries to get the Pacers to a better place in the East. With averages of 17.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game, Haliburton is still a work in progress but he’s holding his own for a Pacers team ranked fourth in the East (31-23).
Arguably the most impressive thing about Tyrese is his ability to tune out the critics and not let the heat become a distraction. No matter how personal Tim Hardaway wants to get, Haliburton knows what’s at stake and he knows it’s not worth it to get too involved.
After his latest comments, the best thing Tyrese can do now is to prove himself on the court and make sure the Pacers are ready to compete in the playoffs. With Haliburton, Myles Turner, Pascal Siakam, and Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana has a solid core of talented players and now it’s time to prove their worth on the court.
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