Indiana Pacers’ victory over the Milwaukee Bucks was overshadowed by Tyrese Haliburton’s father and his wild decision to shove it in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s that his son’s team eliminated them through a nail-biting OT win.
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks
Former Iowa State and Indiana Packer guard Tyrese Haliburton holds his parents John and Brenda Haliburton as the unveiling his Olympic 24 gold made banner during the halftime of Cyclones and Wildcats men’s basketball showdown at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday March 1, 2025 in Ames, Iowa.
The Pacers star’s camp already acknowledged the mistake that their patriarch committed while Antetokounmpo, who restraint himself as hard as he could to not escalate the situation, explained that John Haliburton should have not done it to him.
“My dad used to come into the family room and he was the most respectful person ever,” he said.
“When you come from nothing and you work your whole life to sell stuff in the street, your whole life you’ve been scared of the police deporting you and sending you back to your family and you have to protect your kids, you create this mentality of being humble your whole life. To not kind of disrespect anybody.”
The elder Haliburton tried to deny it at first but his son did the apology for him.
What Tyrese Haliburton’s Dad Said To Giannis Antetokounmpo👀:
John: “This is what we do… that’s right, go home!”
Giannis: “Don’t f*cking disrespect me”
Then, Giannis grabbed Mathurin’s neck and also exchanged words. Mathurin said: “What? I’m right here” pic.twitter.com/mvSYIS2sJe
— LegendZ (@legendz_prod) June 28, 2025
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Apr 29, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during game five of the first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
The Pacers organization also handed an appropriate punishment to the father by banning him in their home games in most of the playoff games.
Tyrese Haliburton thinks media exploited it
The two camps addressed the incident a day or two after Game 5 when the Pacers sealed their fate for the next round. However, conversations went on.
Media members had their opinion aired out. Some of them are strong ones. Even Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley got into a verbal fight talking about it.
Four months have passed since the incident and now, Haliburton thinks the topic was exploited.
Tyrese Haliburton vs Milwaukee Bucks
Apr 29, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates a made basket during game five of the first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
The amount that the media had to do in addressing it, it got [to] a point where it was like, I had to go and say bro, ‘My dad is trippin’. That should be enough for me,” he said during an appearance in Logan Paul’s podcast.
“Bro, like, he made a mistake; we all make mistakes in life. Everybody just, like, moves on from that.”
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