In an emotional press conference, American guard Tyrese Haliburton thanked his mother for her support and sacrifices throughout his basketball career as he recently signed a $260 million extension with the Indiana Pacers, which is a record in the team’s history. The 5-year deal became official on the 6th of July and will see the 23-year-old become only the second player in the Pacers’ history to earn a contract of over $100 million.
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Since joining the Pacers in a multi-player swap with Sacramento, the Wisconsin-born player has seen himself become instrumental in the team’s season. Haliburton has slowly improved season by season through his last 5 years in the NBA to career-high assists per game (10.4) and points per game (20.7) in the 22/23 season.
This makes the point guard the fifteenth player in NBA history to average 20 points and 10 assists per game in a single season. As a defining player for the Pacers, it is no wonder that the team have offered him a lucrative deal in hopes that the player will become a franchise-defining icon.
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Haliburton thinks that behind all of his success is his family, especially his mother Brenda. "My mom has been my everything for me to get here,” the point guard said. “Just really appreciative of you Mom because of, you know, all the stuff of us growing up, and pushing me to, you know, be where I am today... So I love you, and I'm really appreciative of you."
Haliburton added that his mom hadn’t missed a single game of his until freshman year of college, stating: “My mom missed my first-ever game, my freshman year of college because the plane didn't take off to get to Lubbock to watch Texas Tech. So before my freshman year, my mom had never missed a game.”
The 23-year-old has had a great season with the Pacers, with the team starting especially strong early in the season before a dip in form and injuries led to a 35-47 record in the end. The team will look to bounce back and qualify for playoffs next season and has already begun to make moves which will make this dream a reality by looking to pair Haliburton with guard Benedict Mathurin and bringing in Bruce Brown.
