Tyrese Haliburton has savage response to former All-Star’s criticism of him

Jan 6, 2021; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) during the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Tyrese Haliburton has just one thing to say about retired former NBA All-Star Wally Szczerbiak — “Who?”

The Indiana Pacers guard Haliburton spoke this week with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report and responded to Szczerbiak’s recent criticism of him. In a bizarre rant earlier this week, Szczerbiak, who is now an analyst for the New York Knicks, tore into Haliburton as a “wannabe fake All-Star.”

“I have no clue [what I did to Szczerbiak],” said Haliburton in response. “I know the name, ‘Wally Szczerbiak.’ I couldn’t tell you where he played. I couldn’t tell you what he did as a basketball player.

“I don’t know, he had a lot to say about me,” Haliburton added. “I was really, like, questioning, like, first, ‘Who is this?’ and, ‘Why is he talking about me like this?’ I don’t know if I ever came out and said, like, “I want to be an All-Star this year. Please vote for me.’ I don’t think I’ve done that. I think he was just excited about a Knicks win, and that got him going. But he’s just doing whatever he can to get attention. That’s just the media these days.”

Szczerbiak’s NBA career began in 1999, and he was named an All-Star in 2002 before retiring in 2009. Thus, it makes sense that Haliburton, born in 2000, may not have been familiar with him prior to Szczerbiak’s comments.

As for Szczerbiak’s argument, it sounds like he was trying to hype up players on the team that he covers (such as Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle) over Haliburton. But Haliburton’s play more than speaks for itself as he is having his best career season with 19.5 points and an NBA-leading 10.7 assists per night for the Pacers. If Haliburton does end up making the All-Star team, it won’t be the first time that Szczerbiak has had to eat crow.