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Caitlin Clark Was Hyped to See Tyrese Haliburton’s Dad Receive Hero’s Welcome

John Haliburton has become one of the biggest stars of the Pacers’ playoff run.

Tyler Lauletta

John Haliburton makes his way down to the court after Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.
John Haliburton makes his way down to the court after Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. / @its_whitney / X
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Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark had a front-row seat to watch the Pacers take down the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.

While her on-court view gave her a great look at stars like Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam on the Pacers and Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns on the Knicks, it’s possible that Clark’s biggest reaction was saved for a celebrity who wasn’t playing in the game.

Haliburton’s father, John Haliburton, got a primetime slot on Clark’s Instagram story on Saturday night, as he made his way down from the suite level to mingle with Pacers fans after the win.

Unsurprisingly, the elder Haliburton received a hero’s welcome from Indiana fans.

Just a few weeks ago, John Haliburton swiftly found himself at the center of NBA drama after he confronted Giannis Antetokounmpo on the court following the Pacers’ win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs.

Haliburton was initially banned from attending Pacers’ games for the foreseeable future, but as Indiana continued their run, fans and media rallied behind Haliburton hoping he could get back in the arena and watch his son play in the most important basketball games of his life. Eventually, he was allowed back to Pacers home games, although he notably has enjoyed those games from the suite level since his interaction with Antetokounmpo.

But once the game was over, and presumably, the Knicks were cleared from the floor, Haliburton made his way to the court, shaking hands with fans the whole way down like he was running for mayor.

Between Clark, Haliburton, and Haliburton’s dad, there is plenty of star power in Indiana basketball right now.

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Tyler Lauletta
TYLER LAULETTA

Tyler Lauletta is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News Team/team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI, he covered sports for nearly a decade at Business Insider, and helped design and launch the OffBall newsletter. He is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, and remains an Eagles and Phillies sicko. When not watching or blogging about sports, Tyler can be found scratching his dog behind the ears.

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