Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton says playing ‘NBA 2K’ helped him learn basketball

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton had a breakout season last year and earned his first All-Star appearance of his career. While there are many reasons for his success, one of them shows that he really is just one of us — video games.

Basketball is a lot more than just putting a ball through a hoop. Basketball IQ takes years of studying to thoroughly develop, and in a recent interview with The Ringer, Haliburton talked about how he learned to read the game by playing “NBA 2K” on his PlayStation.

“Honestly, a lot of my hoop knowledge in knowing how to play comes from video games,” the 23-year-old point guard said. “When you’re playing 2K and you’re on that camera angle where you can see everything ahead of you, that’s how I think sometimes.”

But of course, video games weren’t the only thing that helped. In the same interview, Haliburton said his father always showed him highlights from five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson, the all-time leader in assists who was known for his fast playing style.

Haliburton was drafted 20th overall by the Sacramento Kings after two years at Iowa State. On Jan. 29, 2022, Haliburton registered what was then a career-high 38 points along with seven assists for the Kings. However, the following month he joined the Pacers via a midseason trade. 

That proved to be good for him as his stats continued to improve. Last season he averaged a double-double of 20.7 points and 10.4 assists per contest.

It is still early in the 2023-24 campaign, but it seems Haliburton is continuing that momentum. Through the first 10 games, he is averaging 23.8 points and 12.2 assists while shooting at 51.7% from the field and 40.9% from beyond the arc. 

Haliburton will be back on the court Tuesday evening as the Pacers (6-4) take on the Philadelphia 76ers (8-1) on the road at 7 p.m. ET.