Haliburton Embracing Being "Prom King" of NBA All-Star 2024

Tyrese Haliburton's peers have nicknamed him the "prom king" of NBA All-Star 2024.

The Pacers' All-Star guard has been seemingly everywhere this weekend, as Indianapolis hosts the NBA's signature event for the first time since 1985.

He helped get the weekend started on Thursday night at the Tip-Off event, riding with Conor Daly in an Indy Car from Monument Circle to Bicentennial Plaza. After that, he hustled up to Broad Ripple for a live taping of "The Woj Pod" with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Grant Hill at the Vogue.

On Friday he had numerous appearances across the city, including recording another podcast with Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks, conducting a Q&A at a screening of his "Pass The Rock" episode, and taking part in the NBA 2K League Alley at NBA Crossover at the Indiana Convention Center.

He was courtside at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Celebrity Game on Friday night, hanging out with 50 Cent and Lil Waye before hustling across downtown to make it to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to support his teammates Bennedict Mathurin and Oscar Tshiebwe at the Panini Rising Stars event.

On Saturday morning, he had two practices — first a private one at Lucas Oil Stadium to prepare for Saturday's night's Starry 3-Point Contest. Then he was back at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to join his East teammates for a public practice and handle numerous Media Day obligations.

On Saturday night, he'll compete in both the 3-Point Contest and the Kia Skills Challenge, where he will team up with Mathurin and Myles Turner.

And on Sunday, he'll start in the All-Star Game in his home arena, becoming just the fourth Pacer ever to start an All-Star Game.

“It’s been a zoo," Haliburton said Saturday. "It’s been a lot, but it’s been a lot fun...I just do whatever I’m asked to do."

Haliburton is getting some extra attention this weekend as the de facto host of the weekend, but he also would be in the spotlight no matter where All-Star was held.

The 23-year-old guard has emerged as one of the league's next superstars this season. He was thrust into the national spotlight during the NBA's In-Season Tournament, where he led Indiana on a run to the championship game in Las Vegas. He is averaging career-best numbers at 21.8 points and a league-leading 11.7 assists per game and was not only voted to start the All-Star Game, but he led all East guards in fan, media, and player voting.

"It means everything," he told ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth during Friday night's Celebrity Game. "I'm so excited about it. To represent my organization the right way, the Pacers, we haven't had a ton of All-Star starters in general, so to do it in Indy, it's very special."

It's been a meteoric rise to superstardom for Haliburton in his two-plus seasons in Indiana. Just a few years ago, he was an anonymous three-star high school recruit from Oshkosh, Wis. Now, he's one of the biggest names at the NBA's signature showcase, his image plastered on billboards all across Indianapolis next to the likes of LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

It's not just Haliburton's play on the court that makes him stand out. There's a magnetism to how he carries himself on the court. When the Warriors were in Indianapolis last week, Steve Kerr (who coached Haliburton last summer with USA Basketball) referenced the "infectious joy" Haliburton has when he plays, which reminded Kerr of Curry. Pacers Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, back in town to broadcast All-Star for TNT, sung Haliburton's praises on Friday.

“He brings people together," Miller said. "If you watch Tyrese play, it’s never been about him. It’s been about us. What can we do to win tonight? I think he would be happy with four points and 24 assists and the victory as opposed to a 40-point game in a loss.

"The way his teammates look at him, they look at him like they look at LeBron, they look at him like they look at (Nikola) Jokic, they look at him like they look at Giannis (Antetokounmpo). Like we can do anything with this dude out there. And I see that."

Turner knows better than anyone the unique impact that Haliburton has made on the Pacers and the city of Indianapolis. Over his nine years with the franchise, Turner has played alongside several All-Stars, from Paul George to Victor Oladipo to Domantas Sabonis.

“I think with Tyrese what’s so impressive is everything happened so fast," Turner said on Saturday. "I think he’s someone that got a lot of his success as soon as he got here.

"For some people, they don’t know how to really handle that and the things that come with it. But he’s a Midwest kid and I think that people naturally gravitate towards him just because of his intangibles out there. He’s someone that’s got a great smile, he gets a lot of people involved, he’s very easygoing. I think he’s embraced it really well. I think the city’s embraced him.”

For Haliburton, who is an All-Star for the just the second time, it's still surreal to be a part of the weekend, mingling with the league's other stars, Hall of Famers, and celebrities.

“It means the world," Haliburton said. "The respect that I’ve gained from my peers and legends means the world to me. Just to keep meeting people (with) where I’m from that’s not really a thing. There’s no chance that they even know where Oshkosh, Wisconsin is. It means the world to me. I just want to continue to keep doing what I’m doing and getting people’s respect."

After Sunday night, Haliburton will take a few days to get some much-deserved rest before gearing back up for the second half of the season. He has his eye on getting the Pacers back into the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and playing the first postseason games of his career.

Miller drew lots of attention for comments he made about Haliburton on Friday, when he said that "I really do believe that he can carry this team to a championship."

It was a proclamation more about the Pacers' long-term future than this season, but with Haliburton timelines have a tendency to get sped up.

Haliburton will give up his "prom king" crown after this weekend, but he's on the trajectory to become actual NBA royalty. Maybe sooner rather than later.