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Tyrese Haliburton Gets Honest About Not Rooting for Caitlin Clark Early on

Indiana sports fans have a lot to cheer about, thanks to Tyrese Haliburton and Caitlin Clark. Haliburton has the Indiana Pacers just two wins away from their first-ever NBA championship, as they are up 2-1 in the Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Clark, meanwhile, has taken the WNBA by storm with the Indiana Fever. She won Rookie of the Year in 2024 and helped end the team's seven-year playoff drought along the way as well.

Haliburton and Clark have put their respective teams back on the map, and as a bit of an added bonus, they get along well, too.

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) gestures during a game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) gestures during a game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Clark has called Haliburton one of her good friends, but he wasn't always rooting for her. The reason? Well, Clark played at Iowa while Haliburton suited up for Iowa State from 2018 to 2020.

Haliburton would even become friends with Clark's boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, when he was a player development intern for the Pacers in 2023-24, but told ESPN that he still couldn't bring himself to root for her as she was shining at Iowa.

"Me and Connor would talk all the time about [Clark's] journey," Haliburton said. "But I refused to cheer for Caitlin until she got out of college because I'm not cheering for Iowa."

It eventually became clear, though, that Clark was going to be drafted by the Fever after they won the Draft Lottery. That's when Haliburton finally relented, and he officially switched allegiances after his girlfriend, Jade Jones, who is also from Iowa, became a huge fan of Clark's. The two couples went out for dinner together and have been close ever since.

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