Pacers' Haliburton, Toppin took center stage and attracted a record crowd at Indy pro-am
Pacers' Haliburton, Toppin took center stage and attracted a record crowd at Indy pro-am
Three weeks after signing the richest deal in Pacers franchise history, Tyrese Haliburton was out in the community and fulfilling a promise to a friend.
NOBLESVILLE — Tyrese Haliburton is jet-setting across the country right now.
It’s his offseason and he has several things he wants to do and people he wants to see before basketball consumes his life again, beginning next week with the USA Basketball World Cup team.
After attending weddings in Los Angeles and Miami over the weekend, he returned home to the midwest and to Indiana for a few days of workouts. He also had a promise to see through.
Over dinner one night, about one month ago with former Sacramento Kings teammate Kyle Guy — the Lawrence Central High School and University of Virginia product — he committed to swinging through the Dizzy Runs Pro-Am this summer in Noblesville.
“I’ll do anything I can do for my boy KG,” Haliburton said Tuesday after playing in the featured game. “A lot of people here, good energy, we lost but it was fun.”
Yes, Haliburton’s team lost. But it was a magical night for so many young fans. Hundreds (maybe a thousand?) filled the Finch Creek Fieldhouse to see Haliburton, who brought his newest teammate Obi Toppin along.
“That’s my man,” Guy said of Haliburton. “We got really close his rookie year in Sacramento. That’s my bro for life now. He was gracious enough to come play. I asked him and he said ‘yes’ and that means a lot.
“I think it’s good for the community for the face of the franchise to show up and play.”
(See Also: Video highlights and interviews from Dizzy Runs)
They weren’t the only familiar names either. Former Pacers Jeff Teague and Andre Owens; Fred Jones was a coach. Trayce Jackson-Davis, Joey Brunk, Jordan Walker, and so many others who made an impact on the Indiana high school basketball scene.