Haliburton opens up on his Achilles recovery, watching the Knicks win it all, 50 Cent at his wedding, and why doubters fuel him in the latest Boardroom Talks.
Tyrese Haliburton grew up in a town of about 70,000 people in Wisconsin, and when Speedy Morman asked who from home had “made it out” to inspire him in the latest episode of Boardroom Talks, the answer was short: “Nobody.” He says that makes it more special. It also explains a lot about the Indiana Pacers guard, who has spent his life proving people wrong and, by his own account, enjoying every minute of it.
Morman’s conversation with Haliburton opens up in a one-story, thousand-square-foot house with a basement pool table, where friends always came to him because he hated leaving home. He was, and remains, a homebody, and he was blunt about the great outdoors: “I hate being outside.” Among the first things he did after signing his new deal was pay off that house, “so my parents have no reason to complain.”
Money came up a lot, mostly because Halliburton handles it like someone still surprised he has it. Morman pressed him on flying Southwest to WrestleMania despite a contract worth nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. Haliburton was unbothered. “I sat exit row,” he said, and added that quotes for private flights once made him call his financial advisor to ask if he was missing something. He’ll splurge on a vacation, he said, though never for Europe. He buys from eBay and Grailed under fake usernames, and where others might pay full price, “I’m low-balling every offer.” When a turntable turned up on Facebook Marketplace, he handed over cash in a Krispy Kreme parking lot. The seller recognized him only after the sale, by which point Halliburton was already in his car and gone.
Haliburton’s wedding story is the best of the bunch. He wanted live music, but one artist’s price came back at “750 bands. 30 minutes.” He offered to cover all accommodations. The artist left him on read, and Haliburton crossed him off his playlist out of respect. Then 50 Cent, whose brand sponsors the Pacers, offered to perform for free and arrived as a surprise, creating a viral moment when Haliburton hopped on stage to rap.
The talk turned to basketball with the 2024 Olympics, where Haliburton made Team USA but never played. He was upset, he admitted, but he decided to make the most of it: “I’m going to crack jokes the whole time.” His now-famous tweet got a retweet from Elon Musk, and he was happy to note that he’d delivered the punchline before anyone else could.
The sting of the following season is harder to joke about. Haliburton says his first half was rough enough that he considered a mental health break, then he turned it around, made All-NBA, and led Indiana to the Finals. He calls himself “a very petty person” who feeds on doubt, and he admits he had victory tweets ready for Game 7. Then he tore his Achilles in the first quarter. Losing at that height, he said, was brutal: “I literally went from the mountaintop.” Days later, “I can’t even get in the shower by myself.” Still, he says he’s “forever connected” to that team.
Then he sat out a full season and watched the Knicks win the title. He tried to turn it off, then decided to keep watching, and was happy for friends like Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. “We hate each other when we’re playing, but after that it’s love.” He was also a little annoyed that Indiana’s return opens in New Orleans without a national TV slot: “It’s Indiana. I get it.”
Morman closed the conversation by asking whether Haliburton feels respected. Haliburton said he probably never will get the respect he thinks he deserves, and it doesn’t matter. What counts is the people around him, like Kevin Durant flying to Indianapolis to check on him and LeBron James leaving voice memos during the Finals. “As long as they respect me, that matters more to me.”
Given his own history, he’ll likely keep collecting doubters, and he’ll keep enjoying it.
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