Tyrese Haliburton looking to prove his 2023 dominance wasn’t fluky, believes Indiana Pacers are being glossed over

In an interview with Andrew Greif in GQ, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton shared that he feels like he still has a lot to prove after his first All-NBA season.

“I’m greedy, I want to be great,” Haliburton said. “So, I mean, what is there to be satisfied about?”

Last season, the 24-year old was named an All-Star for the second time in his career. For the first few months of the season, he was among the best players in the NBA with his offensive output, and while it faded down the stretch due to injury, he was still a mega talent when hobbled.

His impressive play led to his first playoff berth, and then his first spot on an All-NBA team. But for the Wisconsin native, that isn’t enough.

“I got a lot more to prove,” Haliburton told GQ. “I’m coming into this year, and whether it’s the case or not, viewing it like everybody thinks my success in the first half of last season was a fluke, and I got to prove it again,” he added.

That line is perfectly fitting for Haliburton’s character. He searches for his own motivation, even admitting last season that he uses Tweets from accounts with few followers to get motivated. “I use every little thing as motivation, I take tweets from people who have two followers as motivation. That’s just who I am naturally, so it just comes with it,” he said when discussing comments by MSG Networks Analyst Wally Szczerbiak.

He’ll try to do it all again in the next campaign. After reaching the peak of his career so far last year, the Iowa State product is looking to get better in 2024-25. To him, that means proving his success last season wasn’t a fluke.

He averaged 20.1 points and 10.9 assists per game during 2023-24. Haliburton is currently competing for a gold medal with Team USA in the 2024 Olympics, and he made his Olympic debut earlier this week.

Haliburton also told Greif that he thinks his team isn’t being discussed appropriately this offseason.
“All I keep seeing is, ‘Who’s going to win the East? Boston, Milwaukee, New York, or Philly?’ It’s like, what are we doing [not being included]?” Haliburton mused. “But again, we’re Indiana, people didn’t even know, people didn’t even watch us play until the playoffs. People didn’t watch us play until the second round. But again, that respect comes with winning. So if we want to gain that respect, we just got to keep having success as a team. And it’s coming.”

Last year, Indiana reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in a decade. Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, who may also be headed for a big year, were integral to that run.

Next season will be Haliburton’s fifth in the NBA, and his first on a max contract. He’s hoping to prove that he’s more than worth that deal — and that his team can remain among the top of the East. The entire GQ interview, which features much more insight and details from Haliburton, can be found here.