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NBA Hall Of Famer Throws Shade At Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton

Shandel Richardson

Mar 11, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA;Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates his made basket and foul in the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Mar 11, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA;Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates his made basket and foul in the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
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NBA Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway has no problem with trash-talk.

He was one of the best at it during his playing days but says Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton does it too much. Hardaway said Haliburton would be the one player he wishes he could have faced in his prime.

"He talks a little bit too much," Hardaway said. "... If there's one guy that I want to go play against, I wanna go play against him in my prime to show him and shut him up. Just shut up and play man, because you're not really like that."

Hardaway also called Haliburton a liability on defense.

"You're just a guy that's going to come out and play," Hardaway said during an appearance on the Run It Back podcast with Lou Williams and Chandler Parson. "You're doing what you're supposed to do. Credit where credit is due. He's out there balling ... But on defense, I'm not hiding on defense. They hide him on defense. You're not sticking the best point guard."

It is unknown why Hardaway chose to single out Haliburton. Maybe it's Hardaway's way of motivating Haliburton to play at another level. The two going up against each other 1990s would have been fun to watch.


"Live up to all the hype," Hardaway said. "If you're going to talk smack, you've got to go out there and do what you're supposed to do against the best. Play against the best, defend the best."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com