Tyrese Haliburton led the Indiana Pacers to an unlikely victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, sealing the comeback win with a game-winning shot with just 0.3 seconds remaining.
But it was Haliburton's voice in postgame interviews that captured some of the most viral attention after the victory. Videos shared on social media showed the Pacers star taking on some wildly varying inflections, turning heads with fans.
"We've had to win in so many different ways, we've had so many weird wins all through the regular season so why would that change?" Haliburton said in the interview with ESPN, deepening his voice at the end of his sentence.
Many fans picked up on Haliburton's deepening tone.
"Tyrese Haliburton's voice change mid-sentence is crazy," noted the popular Hoop Central account on X, sharing a video of Haliburton's postgame interview.
"Huge night for Tyrese Haliburton," added NBA reporter Dave McMenamin in a post on X. "First Finals game. First Finals game winner. First Finals voice morph.
Others pointed out that Haliburton's voice often changes inflection during interviews, with another coming later in his postgame press conference.
"Hali's voice changed twice in 10 seconds," Bleacher Report noted in a post on X.
Haliburton had a big game on Thursday, leading his team to a 15-point comeback with under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. His 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds left gave the Pacers the 111-110 win.