Few people had a closer seat to the Pacers’ postseason war with the New York Knicks than John Haliburton, father of Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton. Speaking with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, the elder Haliburton described the series as one of the most electric stretches of basketball he’s experienced, full of the kind of playoff intensity that makes the sport worth watching in the first place.
His admiration for the competitive fire on the floor came with a sharp caveat about what he saw off it. Haliburton drew a clear line between generations of Knicks supporters, saying the friction wasn’t coming from longtime fans, but from a younger contingent he felt crossed a line. He pointed to a Haliburton jersey being set on fire on the street outside Madison Square Garden, and to an incident in which a Knicks fan who wore Tyrese’s jersey was reportedly pelted with garbage by people he otherwise should have considered his own.
“Man, let me tell you something—it was unreal. I loved it. I loved the competitive energy. But some of those young Knicks fans can be incredibly disrespectful. It’s not the older generation; it’s the younger guys coming in wearing the jerseys. You don’t have to take my word for it. Look at them now—they just won the NBA championship. You would think the city would be celebrating and having a safe, respectful, good time, but instead, they’re all over the news going crazy doing wild things.”
Adding, “When we played them in the playoffs and their fans were out on the street, I didn’t care anything about their noise. But they took a Haliburton jersey and burned it. They even targeted one of their own peers who just chose to represent Tyrese, and they threw garbage on him. To me, that is totally disrespectful. So going into their house, silencing them, and sending them back to their closets was one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had.”
For Haliburton, that behavior stood in contrast to everything a championship run is supposed to represent. He noted the irony that the same fanbase capable of celebrating a long-awaited title, New York beat San Antonio in five games to claim the franchise’s first championship since 1973, also generated headlines for rowdy, sometimes reckless behavior in the city afterward. Beating the Knicks in their own building, and quieting that noise, he said, ranked among the best feelings he’s had as a basketball parent.
When the Family Name Became a Hit Song
The conversation took a lighter turn when Robinson asked about a very different kind of recognition: hearing the Haliburton name turned into a hook on Rob49’s track “WTHELLY.” John Haliburton didn’t hide his pride. As far as he’s concerned, having his own last name — the one he passed down to his son, immortalized in a song is one of the best things that could’ve happened to the family, since music like that tends to stick around for good.
“All right, let’s be real—let me throw it at you. That’s my name. That’s my last name. Tyrese has that name because of me. So to hear my last name in a record because of my son? I thought it was one of the best things that could happen in this world. To be recognized like that forever, because that song will be here forever.”
He admitted he wasn’t the one who found it first. Tyrese already knew about the song, since his musical taste skews newer than his father’s; John leans toward ‘80s and ’90s R&B and hip-hop, while Tyrese gravitates toward newer production. John stumbled onto it scrolling through X, replayed it to make sure he’d heard correctly, then called his son to confirm. Tyrese’s response was simple laughter and a casual acknowledgment that yes, his dad had heard it right.
“The first time I heard it, Tyrese already knew about it because he was already kicking it. But I hadn’t listened to it yet because his music and my music are usually different—I’m an ’80s and ’90s R&B and hip-hop guy. Tyrese loves the old school too, but he’s new school and loves the beats. I was scrolling through X [formerly Twitter] and saw the song. I went, “What is that?” I replayed it, and I immediately called him: “Tyrese, did you hear this song?” He just laughed and said, “Yeah, Dad.” I was like, “Whoa, okay!” It became even more real when I actually met Rob49 and he was sitting right next to me. Very humbly, my chest stuck out. I know where I come from, I know where this began, and I know how it’s going to end, so I am just beyond grateful.”
The full weight of it didn’t land until John actually met Rob49 in person and sat beside him. He described feeling quietly proud in that moment, grounded by an awareness of where the family started and where it’s headed, and grateful that a song carrying his own name will likely outlast all of them.
A Separate Night, a Separate Mystery: The Bucks Game
Away from the family storylines, Tyrese Haliburton himself addressed a strange episode that unfolded after a Pacers-Bucks matchup, in comments, according to LandonBuford.com. The night had already been notable for Giannis Antetokounmpo setting a franchise scoring record. At the same time, an Indiana rookie picked up his first career point, but attention shifted afterward to a basketball-related issue that surfaced once the final buzzer sounded.
Haliburton was candid about being out of the loop in real time. He said he had no idea anything was wrong until he noticed Giannis heading toward the Pacers’ locker room afterward, and that he hadn’t registered the postgame handshake line being skipped, something he chalked up as unremarkable since it happens around the league fairly often.
Taken together, the two conversations paint a picture of a family processing fame from multiple angles at once, a father defending his son’s name on the street and in the culture, and a son shrugging off locker-room drama as just another night in the NBA grind.
