Tyrese Haliburton goes from smiles, to stoic, to smiles as Indiana Pacers land seventh pick at NBA Draft Lottery
CHICAGO — Tyrese Haliburton was smiling before taking the stage at the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night. The Indiana Pacers All-Star guard has an outgoing personality, and he is the face of the Pacers franchise. He was the perfect person to represent the team on stage for the lottery proceedings.
Not long before the NBA was set to announce the order of picks, Haliburton took the stage with the other 13 lottery representatives. But he wasn't demonstrative. Instead, he was serious, staring off into the distance.
The first seven announced picks were in the exact same order as the inverse standings. The New Orleans Pelicans would pick 14th. The Dallas Mavericks would pick 10th. The Washington Wizards would pick eighth. No surprises so far, but the Pacers pre-lottery slot was next.
And Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum flipped the card with Indiana's logo on it, confirming that the blue and gold didn't move up in the lottery. They stayed at seven. Haliburton remained stoic as the pick was announced, and then the top four soon after.
"I was just praying that it wasn't our logo that was on the sheet," Haliburton said of the moment. "We're right where we want to be, so it's cool."
His lip trembled a bit, but Haliburton went right back to his same facial expression as he took in the rest of the lottery. The entire tone of the room changed moments later as it was revealed that the Detroit Pistons would be picking fifth after finishing with the worst record in 2022-23.
All eyes were off of Haliburton at that point. The whole room puffed air out simultaneously as a reaction. But the Pacers were happy to see a division rival fall in the draft order.
And there sat Haliburton, still emotionless after Indiana was given the seventh pick. "I didn't know where the camera was," he said afterwards, through a smile. Once he was off the stage, the All-Star guard was himself again. "I was locked in though, I was locked in. My heart was beating so fast, I have no idea why."
Part of the reason why, presumably, is that the prize of this draft was at stake. Victor Wembanyama is a league changing level of prospect, and whichever team landed the number one pick would have had the chance to pick him. Haliburton, and every on-stage representative, were hoping to land him.
Haliburton said that Wembanyama "will be special" in the pros. But it was not meant to be. Indiana will pick seventh, much later than the French prodigy will be available.
"Thank god," Haliburton joked about Wembanyama going to the Western Conference.
The Pacers still like what they should be able to do at seven. There is a solid tier of players behind the top couple picks, and Indiana should be able to snag a talented player at a position of need. This draft is considered to be a good one by talent evaluators.
"Coming in I was like, 'man, just don't let us drop. Just don't let us drop'. Seven's good," Haliburton said. "I mean that's where we expected to be... I'm excited."
If the Pacers have another successful draft, their core of young players will be excellent. Haliburton is already established as an All-Star at just 23-years old. Bennedict Mathurin made All-Rookie first team after averaging nearly 17 points per game. Andrew Nembhard was nearly on the All-Rookie second team and Myles Turner is ascending. One more piece could fully establish the team's core as they push toward the postseason.
In essence, the Pacers will try to avoid being in the lottery again for a while. This is their third straight year wanting ping pong ball luck, and they've walked away with Chris Duarte, Mathurin, and this seventh overall pick.
If they get one more draft hit, they should be out of the lottery for a while. "Hopefully, I don't have too many of these in my future," Haliburton said. He was approached about being the team's representative this year near the end of the regular season.
In the future, the Pacers plan is to be good enough that their end of the regular season conversations with Haliburton are about the postseason instead of the lottery. If they are successful with pick seven, that could happen soon.
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