NBA IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT

December 6, 2023

Tyrese Haliburton

Indiana Pacers

Semifinal Practice Day

Q. Tyrese, do you think an IST championship warrants a banner, and have you thought of something to do with the prize money, because I know you've already won some to get this far. Do you have anything earmarked for whatever prize money you get through this?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: First part of the question, I think at this point in my career, because I haven't done anything yet, I'll take a banner. But I'm sure LeBron would not answer the same way.

But it's a good question. We'll see. We'll see what happens.

Second part of your question, just probably treat my teammates to something nice. That's definitely the goal.

Q. The emotional high of the other night, how are you able to put that to bed and focus on the task at hand tomorrow?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, it was a tough night to get to sleep for sure, just relishing in the moment. I felt like I was probably the last one to leave the arena because it was such a special moment for me and I think our team, as well.

Yeah, you've got to put it to the side now and understand what's in front of us. We beat Milwaukee earlier in the year. They're going to want to come back and get us not because it's the In-Season Tournament but because we beat them earlier. We've got to be prepared for that, and it's an exciting moment for our team.

Q. Have you felt the buzz around you and this team the last couple days and how do you manage that with the task at hand?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, for sure. How do you not feel the buzz? We've all got social media, stuff like that. Like we talked about all year, the better we play, the more love we're going to get, and you've got to take that in stride but understand that can be a poison to a sense at the same time. You've still got to do what you do and approach the game the same and just play Pacer basketball at the end of the day.

Q. You've been a been proponent of this all the way through. Now that you've been through an elimination game, got through the group stage, do you have any suggestions to improve or tweak this format going into next year?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, I'm curious to see what changes next year. I would assume that the league would probably like more teams to be in Vegas. But at the same time, just to avoid the tiebreaker kind of mess that was going on. Everybody was like, if who wins, what happens. I think maybe playing a couple more games maybe outside of your group, maybe in the other conference, something like that. Just playing more games to have more different scenarios with tiebreakers and make it make a little more sense. I'm curious to see what it looks like next year for sure.

Q. In what ways have you enjoyed going through your first big games for the first time but more so as a team because most of the guys on this roster have none of that experience?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. I think we all are NBA fans first and foremost, so we've all seen it, watched it, watched our favorite players do it, so to be a part of it is pretty cool. To get a taste, to be playing on national TV and stuff like that is cool. You just want to keep doing it, and you've got to win to do that at the end of the day.

Q. The league has made so many strides in events here in Vegas. What's the excitement level of the guys in the city to have this here?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, it's Vegas. It's fun for everybody. A lot of people in the league feel like this is probably where the league would move to if expansion happened or anything like that. I think everybody would love that because who doesn't love Vegas. Summer League is always fun for everybody. It's really fun to be here, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the crowd looks like tomorrow and just the excitement in the city around these games.

Q. Just watching you play the last couple games, you still play with a crazy chip on your shoulder. Does that still stem from high school and the draft? And then you're shooting 40 percent [from three-point range] in college and also now; do you still have that in the back of your mind, going out there playing with a crazy chip on your shoulder?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, for sure. I think all the greats do. They find the things that give them a little bit of an edge, so I'm just relishing in that moment and relishing that I was a no-star [recruit] in high school. I know people say three-star, but I was a no-star. Yeah, definitely I use everything that I can to give me a little bit of an edge for sure.

Q. Ty, now that you're here, does this have some kind of NCAA Tournament feel to it, Thursday, Saturday, neutral court, and you come in -- you've got a couple upsets. Do you have a sense of that?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: I guess. I got eliminated in the first round so not like I can really relate to the NCAA Tournament. But I think the early start, that plays a little bit of a part to it. But I think guys that have played in the NCAA Tournament can relate, and I think the one-game elimination, one game and you've got to go home, I think that brings a lot of juice to these games for sure.

Q. Also pool play in FIBA and then knockout stages seems to be kind of the same thing. I wanted to ask about motivation to win this tournament. It does seem like across the league interest was high on the court with the players. Is the motivation to win something that's new? Is it the prize money? You've talked at length about how you haven't won anything in a long time. I'm curious what you think the motivation league-wide is for this tournament.

TYRESE HALIBURTON: I look at it as motivation to win. The motivation is we play in the best league in the world with a bunch of the greatest competitors in the world. I don't know if people really care what the prize is to be honest with you. You just want to win because you want to say that you did and others didn't, and I think that matters.

The prize money is cool, but everybody knows we're all NBA players, everybody has money, whatever. The championship, wherever it goes, is going to stay with the organization's hands or whatever.

But I think the competitive nature of it, I think that's what it is. Everybody in the NBA is elite competitors and wants to win, so I think that's what it comes down to at the end of the day. It's not like there necessarily needs to be an external reward. It's about winning. We're all great competitors.

Q. Dame didn't play in the first matchup against the Bucks. What's the biggest challenge facing him in your specific matchup against him?

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, he's Damian Lillard. He's one of the greatest point guards to ever play this game. Obviously, we know what he brings to the table with his shooting ability. It's been well documented the pick-and-roll between him and Giannis or with Brook as well with Giannis on the back side. We've just got to be prepared for that, and I think we'll be ready for that.

Q. The Bucks put up 146 the other night against the Knicks. Obviously, you can fill it up a little bit. What do you see from them offensively as you look at some recent games, because obviously the lineup was not the same when you saw them in Indiana.

TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, I think that's just part of what they've built over there. That's the reason they won a championship is because you've got a guy like Giannis who can get downhill, put so much pressure on the rim and you surround him with shooters all over the floor, that poses a really difficult threat when defending them.

I think that's just part of who they are, not necessarily the last couple games. Giannis can be getting to the rim and have shooters around him. Dame brings something different, obviously, being able to score when Giannis isn't in there. They've got really good catch-and-shoot players and defenders. That's just a part of the team that they've built, and we've got to be prepared to go against that.