Tyrese Haliburton was the 12th overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2020 NBA draft. Starting his NBA career, Tyrese Haliburton could have had a better relationship with his teammate, Buddy Hield. But by the time Haliburton had gotten there, Hield was already in his fourth year in the league and starting ahead of him. Here is Tyrese Haliburton sharing his initial disliking of Buddy Hield.
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Tyrese Haliburton recently appeared on The Old Man and The Three podcast with JJ Redick. The two went on to talk about various topics ranging from off-the-court things to events that happened on the court.
While on the show, Haliburton eventually went on to share how he did not like Buddy Hield initially when they were both in Sacramento. And it wasn’t due to personal reasons but instead, what was happening on the court.
Haliburton revealed how Buddy Hield was the backup two-guard when he came in as a rookie. One thing that irked Haliburton about Hield was his tendency to run towards the ball instead of rushing to the corner.
But eventually, by their second year together in Sacramento, both Haliburton and Hield had started to develop ‘synergy’ on the floor. Haliburton even went so far as to tell Redick about the time when Buddy Hield told him that they were getting traded but he chose not to pay attention.
Eventually, the two made their way to the Indiana Pacers where both Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield’s on-court chemistry was at an all-time high.
“Well, Buddy is a person I’ve always loved who he is. He’s got non-stop energy, he’s funny, all those stuff, right? But in my rookie year, I hated this guy. As a basketball player, I could not stand him. He started at the two, I was kind of the backup, right? The rookie coming in and it wasn’t so much like he was in my way. It was just like when I’m on the floor with him, he’s always running towards the ball, he never goes to the corner, like he’s always in the way. Like, I couldn’t stand him.”
Tyrese Haliburton got off to a rocky start with Buddy Hield when it came to their on-court chemistry. He could not figure out why Hield would not take his position as the two-guard and come in his way of running the ball.
However, things took a turn right before both players got traded to the Indiana Pacers. This is where both Haliburton and Hield excelled on the floor and even saw a big jump in their on-court chemistry.
After making it to Indy, Haliburton became the cornerstone of the franchise as he started putting up numbers like 17.5 points, 9.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game right from his first year with the Pacers. As for Hield, even he saw a bump in his point production while shooting more efficiently on the court.
Tyrese Haliburton’s relationship with Buddy Hield
While on the podcast, Tyrese Haliburton went on to reveal what it was like playing without Buddy Hield for the first time in so many years. Buddy Hield recently got traded to the Philadelphia 76ers and will play without Haliburton for the first time in the past 4 years.
“It was weird, weird like I’ve never had to pick the ball before, right? I’ve never had to get us from shoot-around back to layups. Like, I’ve never had to yell two lines before. Like, the energy was different without Buddy constantly talking, it was weird.”
As much as Tyrese Haliburton hated Buddy Hield as a player initially, the two brought out the best in each other on the court. Both Haliburton and Hield have played 229 games with one another in their entire NBA career.
While playing alongside Buddy Hield, Tyrese Haliburton had a higher field goal percentage, and a better three-point percentage, and even managed to get more point production with him on the floor.
As for Buddy Hield, he saw a decline in his point production and free throw percentage. However, there were a few stats where not just Hield but even Hailburton saw a spike since playing on different teams.
Let’s see how these two players fare as they learn to play without one another after getting to know each other’s habits on the court so well.
