What Pacers’ Haliburton, Carlisle are saying about Team USA
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — On Wednesday, USA Basketball officially announced its roster for the 2024 Olympics.
Among the superstar headliners like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, is Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
Reports of Haliburton’s inclusion on the roster have circulated over the last few weeks, but the move was not made official until Wednesday afternoon.
Haliburton spoke on Tuesday about potentially having a spot on the Olympic roster.
“It would mean the world to me,” Haliburton said. “It is something I’ve always wanted to do. Last year I was a part of that (FIBA World Cup) team that did not have the success we necessarily wanted, so to get that opportunity to go back this year and play for something bigger would mean the world to me… it would be cool to represent where I am from, my family, and this organization, it will be awesome.”
Haliburton played on last summer’s FIBA World Cup team that finished in fourth place.
This year, some of the top NBA superstars are joining forces to try and win an Olympic gold medal.
“At the end of the day, all of us as kids have grown up watching USA basketball, every Fourth of July putting on a USA basketball jersey,” Haliburton said. “I have really done that my whole life, watching my heroes play USA basketball. It would mean a lot to me to get that opportunity.”
Smiling ear to ear, Haliburton recalled the blue James number 6 jersey that he used to don, along with a white Curry jersey, and Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant USA Basketball jerseys.
This summer, Haliburton will get to play on the same team as two of those five NBA legends.
Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle was just as excited as Haliburton on the potential of his star poitn guard representing Indiana in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It would be a great accomplishment,” Carlisle said after hinting that the official announcement would come on Wednesday. “It would be a great feather in the cap for USA basketball too, to have a guy that is such a great connector and such a great young player.”
The 2024 Olympics begin in Paris on July 26, 2024.
The Pacers will play their first playoff series in four years when they play the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. Game 1 tips off from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Sunday at 7 p.m. EDT.
RELATED COVERAGE
- Injuries limit Antetokounmpo, Lillard as Bucks prepare for Pacers in playoffs
- Myles Turner scores 31, Pacers avoid play-in tournament with rout of Hawks
For more updates on the Pacers throughout the postseason, follow us on X and Facebook.