{"id":88780,"date":"2025-06-10T10:30:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T10:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/88780\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T10:30:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T10:30:32","slug":"tyrese-haliburton-has-a-shot-at-indiana-immortality-an-nba-ring-and-inner-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/88780\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyrese Haliburton has a shot at Indiana immortality, an NBA ring and inner peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 There\u2019s a 60-foot mural on the side of the building at 127 E. Michigan St. in downtown Indianapolis. It depicts the city\u2019s most beloved basketball player.<\/p>\n

The one who went toe-to-toe with Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O\u2019Neal. The one whose posters still line the walls of local bars and barbershops. The one who, every time he comes home, receives a champion\u2019s applause \u2014 even though he never was one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will always haunt me not winning a chip,\u201d Reggie Miller recently said on the \u201cAll The Smoke\u201d podcast.<\/a> \u201cI had opportunities, and that\u2019s why it just burns me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller isn\u2019t just a legend in these parts. The greatest Indiana Pacer ever is a folk hero. Invoke the Hall of Famer\u2019s name around those who witnessed him in his prime and they\u2019ll say Miller still deserves a ring, despite falling two wins short of one in the 2000 NBA Finals. Even without it, they\u2019ll also argue that Miller deserves a lot more than that mural.<\/p>\n

WATCH: Have you seen this incredible mural of Reggie Miller in downtown Indy?! Our #SKY59<\/a> drone shows it towering the city at 60 feet tall! More: https:\/\/t.co\/qxNk06PjZW<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/tT6k7hIhBm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Olivia Purevich (McClellan) (@OliviaPurevich) October 19, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n

He deserves his own statue, which may be built someday, but for now, only one athlete in the city has a statue outside of his old office: Peyton Manning.<\/p>\n

The former Indianapolis Colts quarterback and Hall of Famer is immortalized in nine feet of bronze in front of Lucas Oil Stadium. He\u2019s the only athlete loved just as much as, if not more than, Miller is in and around Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

Tyrese Haliburton could join them.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old\u2019s late-game heroics in these playoffs have galvanized the city, if not the whole state. And for gray-haired Hoosiers, Haliburton\u2019s clutch gene has elicited memories of Bobby Plump. The local luminary is known for making the most famous shot in Indiana high school basketball history, a last-second pull-up jumper<\/a> that lifted Milan (161 students) to a massive upset of Muncie Central (1,662 students) in the 1954 state final. The movie \u201cHoosiers\u201d was inspired in part by Milan.<\/p>\n

Haliburton is in the middle of directing his own \u201cHoosiers\u201d-like run while trying to lead a No. 4 seed to an NBA title for the first time in 56 years. It\u2019s as if the movie\u2019s star player, Jimmy Chitwood, is whispering his famous line, \u201cI\u2019ll make it,\u201d<\/a> in Haliburton\u2019s ear before he drills yet another clutch shot. There have been four of them this postseason run \u2014 one in each round, to be exact. Four times the Pacers have trailed in the last five seconds of a game, and four times Haliburton has either tied or won the game with a big-time bucket.<\/p>\n

The latest example? A 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds left to silence the Oklahoma City Thunder in his NBA Finals debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never lose belief in our group. I never lose belief (in myself),\u201d Haliburton told ESPN\u2019s Scott Van Pelt after Indiana\u2019s one-point victory in Game 1. \u201cIf I lose belief in taking a shot at the end of a game, we\u2019re probably screwed. So, I just gotta stick with it and stay confident and keep making plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin Pritchard, the Pacers\u2019 president of basketball operations, saw Haliburton\u2019s potential before many others. He didn\u2019t wait for Haliburton to stun a sellout Thunder crowd to share his conviction publicly. Pritchard anointed Haliburton, whom he acquired from the Sacramento Kings in a February 2022 trade, as the next Indianapolis icon before he even played a game for the Pacers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel like when we put the ball more in Tyrese\u2019s hands that he can really blossom into something special at 21 years old,\u201d Pritchard said hours before Haliburton\u2019s franchise debut<\/a>. \u201cFor me, when you get those kinds of guys, it\u2019s like getting the Peytons and the Andrew Lucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Pritchard uttered those words, knowing that it\u2019s nearly impossible for any newcomer to live up to Manning\u2019s impact in Indy, it felt like he did Haliburton, a promising yet largely unaccomplished player, a disservice. Even mentioning Haliburton with Luck, who was on his own Hall of Fame trajectory before injuries forced him into an early retirement, felt extremely premature. Manning led the Colts to two Super Bowl appearances and won one in 2007. Luck led the Colts to the AFC Championship in just his third season.<\/p>\n

But Haliburton, for all of the weight he was under to flip the Pacers\u2019 fortunes \u2014 which was multiplied by Pritchard\u2019s bold vote of confidence \u2014 he has already delivered. In only his third full season with the franchise, he\u2019s led the Pacers to their first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years, where they\u2019re tied 1-1 with the Thunder as the series shifts to Indiana for Wednesday\u2019s Game 3. He\u2019ll need to be better than he was during a blowout loss in Game 2 (17 points total but only five points through the first three quarters), but he is trusted to bounce back.<\/p>\n

Their conviction is backed by the resilience they\u2019ve witnessed all season, as Haliburton has navigated the increased scrutiny of stardom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just proud of the way he\u2019s handled everything,\u201d Myles Turner, the longest-tenured Pacer, said of Haliburton the night Indiana ousted the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of pressure being that main guy. \u2026 It\u2019s all happened so fast, but he\u2019s done a great job of composing himself and showing up when it matters the most.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, when you want to say he\u2019s the Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck of the city, it makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Peyton Manning (left) and Haliburton, shown here chatting in July following a Team USA practice in Paris, are two of the faces of Indiana professional sports. (Jesse D. Garrabrant \/ NBAE via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Since Haliburton\u2019s trade to Indiana, his career arc over the last three-plus seasons illustrates someone who likely will have his jersey in the rafters of Gainbridge Fieldhouse someday. Two NBA All-Star nods, two All-NBA third-team selections, an Olympic gold medal and an NBA Finals appearance have placed Haliburton in rarefied air. The only other player to accomplish similar feats while wearing a Pacers uniform is Miller.<\/p>\n

But despite how some may view his rapid rise, Haliburton is the first to admit he\u2019s experienced his share of turbulence.<\/p>\n

Amid the iconic moments \u2014 like when he jumped on the scorer\u2019s table after ending the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 season with a game-winning layup in the first round, or when Dwyane Wade called him a \u201ccold motherf\u2014\u2013\u201c<\/a> after he quieted the Thunder with his game-winning jump shot in the finals \u2014 there have been seeds of doubt, coupled by windows of vulnerability. And unlike most athletes, Haliburton refuses to regurgitate the same clich\u00e9s that have been ingrained in the sports lexicon.<\/p>\n

Instead, he\u2019s often used his media availability as an extra therapy session.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want me to lie?\u201d Haliburton asked rhetorically as he left the interview room at Gainbridge Fieldhouse earlier this season. \u201cI can\u2019t lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

If heartbreak had a face, it would be the one Haliburton wore during his first media scrum after being traded from the Kings to the Pacers. He didn\u2019t downplay the painful sever. He leaned into it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s scary. I put a lot of love, a lot of trust into Sacramento,\u201d he said. \u201cPart of my best trait is (being) somebody who just loves hard. \u2026 It can be my biggest upside, but it can be a big downfall, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last season, as Haliburton navigated the worst shooting slump of his career, he candidly admitted to snapping on his inner circle. \u201cEverybody\u2019s answer to me right now is just, \u2018You need to smile. Have more fun.\u2019 And I think me being honest, I\u2019ve had these honest conversations like, \u2018What the f\u2014 is there to smile about?’\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

Even at the beginning of this year\u2019s magical run, there were still lonely, scary hours. After going scoreless in a loss at New York in the second game of the season, Haliburton could feel himself slipping into what he described as basketball depression before he finally came clean to his loved ones and asked for help.<\/p>\n

\u201cI (was) struggling to look at myself in the mirror,\u201d he told The Athletic.<\/p>\n

Haliburton\u2019s nonlinear-yet-meteoric ascension has doubled as a journey of self-discovery and self-certitude. Now, as he plays on the biggest stage of his life, with Indiana just three wins away from its first NBA title, he believes the dark days have helped him approach these upcoming ones with the right blend of perspective and passion.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust understanding that I\u2019m a human being, I think that\u2019s the most important thing for me,\u201d Haliburton said last week. \u201cWhen I do well, I think that I\u2019m put even higher (in public perspective), and when I\u2019m not doing well, you\u2019re always put lower. People are gonna say things to you that might dehumanize you a little bit. \u2026 So, just knowing where your peace is.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, that\u2019s become my friends and family. That\u2019s become the Lord. Those have been two big things for me to just ground myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tyrese Haliburton shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso defends during Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which the Indiana Pacers won in the final seconds. (Alonzo Adams\/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Miller, who was courtside commentating for TNT when the Pacers punched their ticket to the finals, has enjoyed watching his successor find his way. The new face of the franchise shares a similar bravado Miller once wielded \u2014 complete with the funky jumper and occasional choke sign \u2014 and Haliburton\u2019s willingness to defy himself as the status quo of the league has given him a chance to do what those before him couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way his teammates look at him,\u201d Miller said during NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis<\/a>. \u201cThey look at him like they look at LeBron (James). They look at him like they look at (Nikola) Joki\u0107. They look at him like they look at Giannis (Antetokounmpo). Like, \u2018We can do anything with this dude out there.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI really do believe that he can carry this team to a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haliburton has earned his own murals around Indianapolis while revitalizing the Pacers, though none of them are as big as Miller\u2019s. But that\u2019s not what he\u2019s chasing. To truly be immortalized, it\u2019s going to take more than paint.<\/p>\n

And even if he receives a statue like Manning one day (after Miller, of course), it\u2019s going to take more than bronze for him to be satisfied.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to take a ring, with diamonds forged from pressure that can only be found in the finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we were to win a championship, I don\u2019t want to win any other way,\u201d Haliburton said of facing the Thunder. \u201cI don\u2019t want to go around or go over. I want to go through. You want to go through the best team. You want to go through the best challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Alonzo Adams \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n