"Steph was just that guy for me" - Tyrese Haliburton explains how Stephen Curry’s mentorship pushed him to another level

When the “Avengers” team started being assembled after Team USA‘s semifinal loss to Germany at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, many fans and analysts began building their ideal roster that would win gold in Paris.

And while the whole team was being constructed around LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, along with a few other big names, the selections of Derrick White and Tyrese Haliburton at the guard positions surprised somefans. Names like Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard and James Harden were left off the list, but Steve Kerr knew he needed a true floor general in Haliburton and a defensive menace in White.

Hali reflected on Curry’s mentorship

Although neither of them played much, the very fact that they were included among the best spoke volumes. On “The Young Man and the Three” podcast, Haliburton reflected on last summer and Curry’s mentorship.

“He is so unbelievable the way he can like, he remembers people, he cares about people. I mean, I just, I can’t say enough good things about Steph. And then, like, through the Olympic experience, for me, I didn’t play a ton, so a lot of it was for me to learn, and pick guys’ brains, and Steph was just that guy for me,” Haliburton revealed.

“After every practice, I’m like, ‘I gotta work out with Steph. I got to do what he’s doing and kind of take things from him, and he was always like, before he would start, if I’m on the other end of the gym, he’ll be like, ‘Come on, Ty, we’re going to work out.’ So for me, I can’t say enough good things about him,” Haliburton added.

Haliburton looked like a true leader last season

Coincidence or not, after that summer, Hali led the Indiana Pacers to their first Finals appearance in 25 years. The truth is that for the first time in his career, Haliburton looked like a bonafied superstar, the man around whom the whole system revolved and he executed that perfectly on the court.

But what separates superstars from great players is that they can decide the outcome of games themselves. Haliburton’s clutch heroics from last year’s playoffs have already entered the NBA history books. Stephen A. Smith was in awe of Hali’s clutch through the playoffs.

“When it really, really counted, he made the shots. The rest of the NBA — regular season or overtime — last 15 seconds of a game with the game on the line to tie or take the lead; the rest of the league in the postseason was 4-of-26. Tyrese Haliburton? Five for five. Four game-winners,” Smith stated.

“They’re calling him ‘Hali-Curry’ right now. That’s what they’re calling him. That’s what they’re calling him right now. And I don’t know what else to say,” the veteran broadcaster and journalist said.

Passing of the torch moment

It’s clear that Curry’s summer with Team USA had a huge impact on Halliburton. Up close, he saw greatness. He saw a group of stars who were, by every measure, stronger than any team in the world, working as if it were their very first game.

It’s also obvious that in Paris we witnessed a sort of passing of the torch moment at the point guard position, because Haliburton currently looks like the undisputed first-choice point guard of Team USA in the years to come.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“Steph was just that guy for me” – Tyrese Haliburton explains how Stephen Curry’s mentorship pushed him to another level

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