A simple exchange between Tyrese Haliburton and late-night ESPN host Scott Van Pelt has gone viral on social media.
The Indiana Pacers star appeared on SportCenter with Van Pelt after leading his team to a thrilling 111-110 comeback win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After the Pacers trailed for the first 47 minutes and 59 seconds of the contest, Haliburton hit the game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left to silence the crowd at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Towards the end of his interview with Haliburton, Van Pelt talked about being “late to the party” on the Pacers. The admission led to an awesome exchange between the two sports personalities.
Van Pelt: “The other night, on the show, I put my hand up and I said, ‘Look, I was late to the party on [the Pacers].'”
Haliburton: “You’re a real one for that. I heard that. A lot of your counterparts won’t admit that now.”
Van Pelt: “Okay, now I’m going to give myself a little wiggle room and say you guys were under .500 at Christmas, am I right?”
Haliburton: “Oh, we were rough. We were rough.”
Van Pelt: “Were you bad at the start?”
Haliburton: “Okay, yeah. We were.”
Van Pelt: “Okay, all I said was I was a little late to the party.
Haliburton: “For sure. We were late to the party, too.”
Van Pelt: “I’ll be a real one right now. Every single note I had on this card, getting ready for this show, was about Oklahoma City winning this game, and I’m sitting here with you. It’s an amazing show that you’re putting on, and the belief is amazing to watch as well.”
The 'SportsCenter with SVP' interview with Pacers' Game 1 hero Tyrese Haliburton was great TV, especially the last exchange. 🏀📺🎙️ #NBA #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/5ctZ0XQpf7
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 6, 2025
The back-and-forth resonated well with fans. Many called the exchange authentic and genuine, in line with the character of both Haliburton and Van Pelt.
This is fantastic and authentic.
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) June 6, 2025
A genuine honest exchange, we need more of this in the world.
— riddlelaxtalk (@Riddle_Lax_Talk) June 6, 2025
Exemplifies what mature and genuine conversation should look like between hosts and players. Loved this.
— Travis Beverly (@TravisKnowsBest) June 6, 2025
Both men also got a ton of praise for keeping things light and real.
SVP is one of the best in the business and has been for a long time now. I wish we could see more of him other than just late night SportsCenter
— Sports Scrub (@theSportsScrub) June 6, 2025
Halliburton is as likeable a star as there is in the league.
— Myles Smollett (@MylesSmollett95) June 6, 2025
Haliburton tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists in Game 1. The Pacers star’s late-game heroics won him a slew of new fans. His exchange with Van Pelt likely added a few more.
