Tyrese Haliburton explains why nobody messed with his jumper: "I feel like I've been able to shoot the ball at a high level for a long time"

Tyrese Haliburton explains why nobody messed with his jumper: “I feel like I’ve been able to shoot the ball at a high level for a long time” originally appeared on Basketball Network.

Plenty of coaches noticed Tyrese Haliburton‘s unconventional shooting form, but none dared to mess with it. For the Indiana Pacers star point guard, it makes no sense to fix what ain’t broke.

“I feel like I’ve been able to shoot the ball at a high level for a long time,” Haliburton said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “If I wasn’t able to, then I feel like somebody would have been able to change it. But I feel like most of the time, when people tried to change my form, when it’s happened in the past, we do a couple of workouts, then they see that I could shoot the ball well.”

As Hali emphasized, putting the ball through the basket was never a problem for him at any level. He shot almost 69 percent from the field in his senior high school year and 51 percent in two college seasons at Iowa State. Of course, the efficient shooting continued at the biggest stage.

Haliburton’s shot works just fine as is

Proving that his supposedly weird-looking shot does not need a fix, Haliburton manufactured one of the most incredible individual postseason runs in league history. Shooting-wise in the clutch, nobody has ever done what he did in the 2025 playoffs.

Gregg Doyel of the IndyStar noted that “everyone in the NBA not named Tyrese Haliburton is 3-for-16” on potential game-tying or go-ahead shots taken in the last five seconds of 2025 postseason games. In comparison, he hit all four of his attempts.

In all of last season (regular season and the playoffs), Hali attempted 15 shots in the final two minutes with a chance to tie or take the lead. He made 13. Even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Doyel reiterated, went 0-for-7 in such attempts!

“To put that into perspective,” long-time Pacers TV announcer Mark Boyle said, “there are guys playing professional basketball, which means, great players – who could stand on a foul line in an empty gym and not hit 13 of 15.”

Kerr advised Luke Walton not to change Hali’s shot

At first glance, it’s understandable for coaches at the highest level to tweak Haliburton’s form a bit. Besides looking awkward, the release never allowed him to pull off textbook jumpers ー elevating and then releasing the ball at the top of the jump. It theoretically has limitations based on its mechanics.

However, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr thought making shots was more important than appearing to look good. According to Haliburton, Kerr advised then-Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton to leave his odd-looking shot alone.

“One of the stories he (Walton) told me recently was that Coach Kerr called him,” Haliburton said on “Podcast P with Paul George.” “I worked out for the Warriors, and Coach Kerr called him and was like, ‘We love that kid. Don’t ever touch his jumper.’ And Luke was like, ‘Are you sure?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, don’t touch it.'”

“Luke, just let me do my thing, and from there, nobody has messed with me about it,” he added.

Tyrese slid to number 12 for the Kings in the 2020 Draft. His shot may have contributed to this. He recalled New York Knicks fans on social media clamoring that the franchise should not draft him because of his unorthodox form.

Five years later, that shouldn’t be an issue anymore. Haliburton’s awkward jumper became one of the most reliable weapons in the league. It might not look pretty, but as long as the ball goes through the hoop, that’s the only form that counts.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.

Tyrese Haliburton explains why nobody messed with his jumper: “I feel like I’ve been able to shoot the ball at a high level for a long time”

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