Tyrese Haliburton says his dad will be allowed in OKC, Indy arenas for NBA Finals

Portrait of Dustin Dopirak Dustin Dopirak
Indianapolis Star

Tyrese Haliburton told reporters at NBA Finals Media Day in Oklahoma City on Wednesday his father John will be allowed to attend games at both venues at the NBA Finals after he was effectively suspended following a confrontation with Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo after Game 5 of the first round of the playoffs.

 "I'm excited he's going to be in the building," Haliburton said. "The NBA has allowed him to be back in Indy, as well."

John's seats for Pacers games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse have usually been on the baseline right underneath one of the baskets. When Tyrese beat the Bucks with a driving layup in Game 5 of the first round and clinched the series, John drifted onto the court with a flag with Tyrese's image, which he waved in Antetokounmpo's direction. John went back off the floor and Tyrese met with him to embrace him, but afterward Antetokounmpo confronted John. John said Antetokounmpo told him to never disrespect him again, but that he told Antetokounmpo no disrespect.

Days later, John and the Pacers agreed he would not be allowed to attend games for the foreseeable future. However, in the Eastern Conference Finals, John was allowed to watch games from a suite rather than his usual seats starting with Game 4 of that series. He was not allowed to attend games in Madison Square Garden, but will be allowed to attend games in Oklahoma City.

Tyrese joked after Game 4 that although the players were joking that they should "Free Pops," that "he was not in jail" and was watching games in nice accommodations even when he was banned, including Tyrese's house in Indiana. Still, he was pleased to have this phase over with.

"I think the commentary around my dad got a little ridiculous," Tyrese said. "Of course, I'm going to say that. I'm his son. It got a little over the top. He was wrong. That is what it is. I don't think any of us want to be defined by our worst moments. That's just sports media. Sometimes we just take a super good thing or a super bad thing and overblow it. It is what it is. He's learned from it. It won't happen again. Love my pops dearly. Really thankful he's going to be in the building along with me on this journey."

Tyrese revealed John would be allowed back in the building because he was asked about his relationship with his father. He spoke to how close they were and how much John had to work to help Tyrese reach the level he has.

"He means the world to me," Haliburton said. "He's been my biggest fan may whole life. My dad doesn't think that I can do any wrong. My whole life he's always said I'm the best, I'm going to be the best. We have a very close relationship. Growing up my dad got laid off when I was in, like, elementary school. I lived down the road from the elementary and the middle school. I would make my dad drive me every day. That's how we connected. Growing up, he started working third shift. My only real time to connect with him was in the morning. We would watch SportsCenter together in the morning before he would drop me off at school and sleep for the rest of the day until he had to ref or whatever the case was."

Tyrese Haliburton doesn't see Indianapolis as a small market

Haliburton was also asked about Indianapolis as a small market as both Indianapolis and Oklahoma City are small markets, which is expected to negatively affect television ratings for the series. Haliburton noted this is the biggest city he's lived in. He grew up in Oshkosh, Wis., played his college basketball at Iowa State in Ames then played his first two NBA seasons in Sacramento, which is just a slightly larger market than Indianapolis.

"I'm from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, town of like 70,000 people," Haliburton said. "There's nothing to do. I didn't have anything to do growing up. I stayed in the house or went to the local YMCA to play basketball, went to the high school to play, went to my park at Oaklawn Elementary. Whatever it was, there wasn't a ton to do. I just think in my life, I really feel like right now in my life, I'm not talking about basketball, but in the offseason, I could live anywhere and be just fine. As long as I got my dog, my video games and a court, I'll be fine.

"I just feel like being in Indy, like, it's a great place for me. Indy is a much bigger place than I'm even accustomed to. I know people say it's a small market, whatever the case is. Like, I didn't grow up somewhere where it was much bigger, have more to do. So I love being in Indy. Indy has been a great place for me and my family. My whole family lives there now. We love being there. It's a lot of fun for me. I don't need, like, the glitz and glamour of a large city or anything. I really like I think hometown, small-town feel from our fans, right?"

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