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It may be the summer of Tyrese Haliburton, but his offseason is now over a month before most of his teammates’.
The Indiana Pacers point guard has the opportunity to have a special and memorable next six weeks with USA Basketball.
It all started Wednesday in Las Vegas as members of the 12-man roster arrived to begin training camp that continues into Spain before playing in the FIBA World Cup in just over three weeks. The first practice was Thursday afternoon at Mendenhall Hall on the campus of UNLV.
And each time Haliburton has played a different level of basketball, he’s worn a different number.
He was 14 in high school at Oshkosh North, and also had 1 and 2 in AAU. He then wore No. 22 for two seasons at Iowa State University before switching to No. 0 in the NBA.
For Team USA, he’ll continue to wear No. 4, the same number he had previously with them. He won a Gold Medal while playing for the U19 World Cup Team — and he was named to the All-Star Five in the tournament. He was also on the 2021 Select Team.
This World Cup team will play five total exhibition games — in Las Vegas, in Malaga, Spain and then Abu Dhabi before beginning Round 1 of the Group Phase on Saturday, Aug. 26 against New Zealand.
Steve Kerr (Warriors), Erik Spoelstra (Heat), Ty Lue (Clippers) and Mark Few (Gonzaga) are the primary coaches.
Also on the Team USA roster for the World Cup: Paolo Banchero (Magic), Mikal Bridges (Nets), Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Josh Hart (Knicks), Brandon Ingram (Pelicans), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies), Cam Johnson (Nets), Walker Kessler (Jazz), Bobby Portis (Bucks) and Austin Reaves (Lakers).
A lot of player relationships emerge from national team experiences like this one. Think Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, etc. Those King of the Court games they played after practices were legendary — and former Pacers swingman Paul George always took part.
Haliburton is with the Pacers for the long haul now and as the face of the franchise, he’s looking to gain any advantage he can. Players, like the other 11 he’ll be with, will like playing with him. They’ll get a chance to get to know him on and off the court and so I had to ask Ty — will you use this as an opportunity to recruit?
“We’ll see,” he said with a big smile.
To hear more on what Tyrese Haliburton had to say about this experience go to fieldhousefile.com!
Scott Agness is in his 11th season as a beat writer covering the Indiana Pacers. Click here to read more of his work at FieldhouseFiles.com.
