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Tyrese Haliburton Had a Very Special Pick for His Favorite Non-NBA Athlete

Andy Nesbitt

Tyrese Haliburton is a big Brock Purdy fan.
Tyrese Haliburton is a big Brock Purdy fan. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
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Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, with Game 1 of the series on Thursday night.

Before that showdown gets underway, the Pacers' social media team had some fun and taught fans things about Haliburton that they might not have already known about the 25-year-old guard. For instance, his go-to karaoke song is "Let Me Love You," his favorite candy is gummy worms and his favorite clothing brand is Prada.

The biggest surprise came with his pick for his favorite non-NBA athlete, as Haliburton chose someone he went to college with: San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy.

That's a very loyal answer from Haliburton, as he and Purdy both attended and overlapped a few years before Haliburton was taken by the Sacramento Kings with the No. 12 pick in the 2020 NBA draft. Purdy, of course, was later the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Things have worked out pretty well for both Haliburton and Purdy in their post-college careers. You have to think Purdy, who recently got a nice pay day, will be pulling for the Pacers in the Finals.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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