Tyrese Haliburton is in the midst of a breakout year, helping lead Team USA to a gold medal last summer and taking the Indiana Pacers to the brink of the NBA Finals this year.
Haliburton has been stellar in leading the Pacers to a 3-1 lead over the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals, and could owe part of his success to the advice of a former WNBA legend.
Sue Bird revealed in an appearance this week that Haliburton reached out to get advice on how to balance being a facilitator and a scorer. It was a role Haliburton embraced in the Summer Olympics last year and has perfected with the Pacers, culminating with his historic performance in Game 4 where he scored 32 points to go along with 15 assists, 12 rebounds, four steals -- the first player in NBA history to achieve that stat line while not committing any turnovers.
Bird said she can see Haliburton took her advice to heart.
"Clearly he's figured it out," Bird said in an appearance on the "Taylor Rooks X" podcast. "I think my favorite part about watching Tyrese in this run is, yes, the clutch play, the big moments. But it's been a little up and down at times, and that's the reality. I think a lot of times, you talk about top players, you talk about All-Stars and you see their great play, but it always comes with a bad quarter, a bad game, a bad stretch. It's really how you respond to that. To me, that's always the differentiator between good players and great players."
Bird added that Haliburton has shined when it comes to responding to adversity.
"Who can respond to the tough stretches?" Bird said. "Because we all have them. And I think you're seeing it in real time -- not just in series, but in games -- where he may not have the best stretch ever, but he's finding ways to win the game, he's hitting the big shot, he's finding his teammates."