Boardroom catches up with the Indiana Pacers guard to discuss his new visual podcast, “Autograph Presents: Get Minted with Tyrese Haliburton.”
You probably know all about what Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton can do on the court. The Pacers certainly do, as they pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire him from the Sacramento Kings last February, making the 22-year-old the cornerstone of the franchise.
Starting Tuesday, you’ll get to see a totally different side to him.
Haliburton has launched a new visual podcast with Tom Brady‘s Web3 brand Autograph, called “Autograph Presents: Get Minted with Tyrese Haliburton.” The bi-weekly series will break down the power and trajectory of NFTs, with big-name guests like Tony Hawk, 3lau, Eva Longoria, and Charli and Dixie D’Amelio. Conversations will focus on how guests started in the space, what they’re currently up to, how they overcame early doubts, and what they envision for the future of Web3.
The 6-foot-5 Haliburton first got into Web3 in during his 2020-21 rookie season with Sacramento, jumping into the space and learning about its benefits.
“Like everybody else, I had my doubts and asked a ton of questions to understand,” Haliburton told Boardroom over Zoom, “but thank God for Google, YouTube, and people who are a lot smarter than me to teach me these things. Now I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on things, but there’s still a lot for me to learn. So being able to talk to all these power players in the space allows me to ask some questions that I might not know the answers to and gives me knowledge that I can help spread to the masses and people in my life.”
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His first major NFT purchase was Bored Ape #8409, which he bought after his rookie campaign in 2021. He’s now collected nearly 100 NFTs on his OpenSea account, admittedly getting a little deep with the Bored Ape community, learning from other owners and bouncing ideas off of them. He even attended Ape Fest last fall at NFT.NYC, attending different events and scouting out other projects like Azuki, NBA Top Shot, and now Autograph. Haliburton said he owns at least one of each of his Top Shot Moments.
Though Haliburton’s never hosted a podcast before, he’s been a guest on other pods like JJ Redick’s “The Old Man and The Three.” He’s also a natural, gregarious conversationalist — a skill that should help him not get nervous for his newest venture. It was likely those abilities that drew Autograph toward Haliburton to help host the pod. Now, he can brag that he works with Brady himself, though the two have yet to meet.
“All my friends are gonna be jealous,” Haliburton added. “He’s definitely somebody whose brain I’d love to pick not only for sports, but obviously Web3 as well.”
Of all the guests lined up, Haliburton is surprisingly most interested in chatting with Longoria.
“During COVID, I watched Desperate Housewives with my girlfriend,” he said. “So it’s definitely going to be an enjoyable conversation.”
As of Sunday, Haliburton leads the NBA with 10 assists per game as he and the young Pacers try to improve each day and grow together as a team.
“I’m just trying to be the best leader and player that I can be, and reach new heights that I couldn’t even imagine,” he said. “I don’t know what the best version of Tyrese Haliburton is, but I’m on the way to finding that out.”
To whom much is given, much is required, Haliburton said, echoing the old adage. At 22, he’s tasked with revitalizing and reinvigorating a proud team while now balancing this new podcast. When the Wisconsin native isn’t at the gym working out, he describes himself as a homebody who not only likes to play video games, but also searching and discovering everything there is to know about NFTs and Web3.
“For me,” he said, “it’s just a part of my everyday life.”
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