Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton named starter for NBA All-Star Game
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton will get to play inside his home arena in February’s NBA All-Star Game.
Haliburton on Thursday night was named a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
It will be Haliburton’s second career appearance in an NBA All-Star Game. In 2023, he played in the game in Salt Lake City, although he was not a starter in the contest.
This season Haliburton has played in 34 games and leads the Pacers in scoring, averaging 23.6 points per game, along with a team-leading 12.6 assists per game. It’s his best career statistically since joining the NBA.
On Wednesday, Haliburton’s teammate, Pacers center Myles Turner, was asked about what it would mean to see the guard named an All-Star Game starter. “I think the big thing this year that was cool was that he was leading all the votes and what-not for all the guards.
“And just the respect that he’s garnered, respect that he’s earned, just in a very short time of being here. And how he’s elevated his game the past couple years has been amazing too. Obviously us all here are supporting him. He’s representing not only just us, but the city.”
During the third round of All-Star Game voting returns, which were revealed last week on Jan. 18, Haliburton had a vote advantage of more than 900,000 over any other guard in the Eastern Conference. He had 2,718,973 votes, and the player closest to him was Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, who had 1,815,898 votes.
Haliburton continues to recover from a recent hamstring strain. He missed Thursday night’s game against the 76ers, and will miss Friday’s game against the Suns before being re-evaluated on Saturday.
The 2024 NBA All-Star Game will be played on Feb. 18 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.