Tyrese Haliburton Had Four Words After Receiving Boos at NBA Offseason Appearance

Tyrese Haliburton Had Four Words After Receiving Boos at NBA Offseason Appearance originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

It's going to be a long year for Tyrese Haliburton. The Indiana Pacers star has already been ruled out for the season after tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, which means he's not coming back until the fall of 2026.

However, that doesn't discount the name he's made for himself in the NBA over the past few years. On top of making two All-Star teams and two All-NBA teams, he's taken the Pacers to heights they haven't seen since the Reggie Miller days. Haliburton led the team to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000, and got them even closer than Miller did then.

Achieving that success also meant beating the same teams multiple times over the last two years. That includes the Milwaukee Bucks, whom they beat in the first round in 2024 and 2025, and the New York Knicks, whom they beat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2024 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2025.

Because Haliburton has had this much playoff success, it's no surprise that some fanbases hate his guts. That became apparent when he was booed during WWE SummerSlam in New Jersey.

Not only did Haliburton welcome the boos, as he was waving his arms in excitement, but he was also caught saying, "I love you too!" in response (h/t Hoop Central).

Tyrese Haliburton receives boos. 👀

pic.twitter.com/jEocnXCWI9https://t.co/FJLbfA6kAO

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 3, 2025

At first glance, this may not make much sense because the last time New Jersey had an NBA team was 2012, when the Brooklyn Nets were the New Jersey Nets. However, New Jersey isn't far from Manhattan, New York, where the Knicks play. It's possible that Knicks fans were in the audience and were not too pleased to see Haliburton.

Haliburton has not only beaten the Knicks twice with the Pacers, but the fashion in which he has beaten them has likely gotten to their fanbase. In Game 1 of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers pulled off a miraculous comeback in the closing minutes of regulation, highlighted by Haliburton mimicking Reggie Miller's choke gesture, which he did after hitting a game-tying shot.

That game may have swung the series in the Pacers' favor, as they finished off the Knicks in six games. However, the Knicks may have won had they not blown the game. Since that was the second consecutive time Haliburton and the Pacers had beaten the Knicks, their fans clearly wanted the Pacers star to have it once they saw him on the big screen.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.