Tyrese Haliburton is soaking in every moment ahead of his first NBA Finals appearance as the Indiana Pacers prepare to face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the series opener, Haliburton described the excitement as overwhelming following Indiana’s Game 6 victory over the New York Knicks. “I couldn’t sleep after Game 6,” he said. “Part of it was excitement, part of it was, ‘Okay, now what are we preparing for?’”
The All-Star guard recalled the 2011 Finals as the first one he truly remembered, when Rick Carlisle’s Dallas Mavericks upset the Miami Heat. Now playing under Carlisle, Haliburton called it a “full circle” moment.
“I hated Rick for that,” Haliburton joked, “and now I ask him questions about that 2011 run all the time. Being able to create our own run—it’s been a lot of fun.”
The Pacers enter the Finals as clear underdogs, a position Haliburton embraces. “No ‘expert’ or ‘analyst’ is going to pick us, and that’s okay,” he said. “As long as the guys in our locker room and the people in this building believe, then anything is possible.”
He credits the team’s resilience to the poor start to the regular season, which forced Indiana to treat each game with urgency. “Every loss felt bigger because of what our record was at the time,” Haliburton said. “Now it’s playoff basketball. You give one away, you can’t give two away.”
Asked what makes this series compelling for fans unfamiliar with either team, Haliburton pointed to their unselfish styles and youth. “It’s two high-level basketball teams that share the ball really well,” he said. “Not a ‘passing of the torch,’ but definitely two young teams fighting for a championship.”
Despite external doubts, Haliburton is focused on staying grounded and embracing the journey. “It’s easy to think about being four wins away,” he admitted. “But I’m just trying to appreciate every day—practice, media, all of it. Just be where my feet are.”
Veterans like Pascal Siakam have been instrumental in preparing the locker room for what’s to come. “We’ve had a lot of conversations,” Haliburton said. “The main thing remains the main thing. The emotions, the energy in the building—it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
He also acknowledged the challenge of facing a Thunder squad that’s been dominant at home. “We’ve had success on the road in the playoffs,” he noted. “But we know this will be the toughest road environment yet.”
Haliburton said the team’s blue-collar mentality remains intact. “Nobody expected us to be here. But we believe. If you’re going to win a championship, you want to beat the best—and they’ve been the best all year.”
