Former All-Star blasts Tyrese Haliburton with bizarre criticism

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

A former NBA All-Star launched into a bizarre rant about Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton after Sunday’s game, and it seemingly came out of nowhere.

Wally Szczerbiak, who does color commentary and postgame work for New York Knicks broadcasts, was analyzing Sunday’s 109-106 Knicks victory when he suddenly went in on Haliburton. Szczerbiak essentially dubbed Haliburton overrated while discussing some late misses and called him a “wanna-be fake All-Star.”

Wally Szczerbiak going in on Tyrese Haliburton on the Knicks postgame show 😂 pic.twitter.com/QRJxJ3QuPN

— Kevin D. Water Law (@docKev_) December 19, 2022

“Mister supposed wanna-be fake All-Star with the big miss there, and then the rebound by Randle, and then Randle iced the game with all the free throws,” Szczerbiak said while analyzing the end of the game. “Last chance, down three for the wanna-be All-Star. Let me keep it that way. He’s in his second year, he’s a very good player, he’s not going to make the All-Star team. A guy like Julius Randle or Jalen Brunson will make it over Tyrese Haliburton. Tonight we saw why.”

It’s not really clear why Szczerbiak has it in for Haliburton. The Pacers guard is having a breakout season, averaging 19.5 points and a league-leading 10.7 assists per game, and while he shot just 5/16 against the Knicks, he still posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. Szczerbiak did not even get Haliburton’s experience right — the guard is in his third year, not his second, and Szczerbiak had to be corrected over that. As a Knicks analyst, he may just be shilling for Randle and Brunson, even though their All-Star cases in comparison to Haliburton are debatable at best and nowhere near as obvious as Szczerbiak makes them sound.

Haliburton has shown himself to be a gifted scorer and creator and has also demonstrated that he is a very intelligent player. Szczerbiak going after him like this, seemingly unprovoked, just looks petty and silly.