Hours after his father starred in a heated exchange with Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tyrese Haliburton reflected on the situation again.
The veteran guard addressed the back-and-forth during his post-game interview, saying that his father’s actions weren’t ideal and revealing he apologized to Antetokounmpo.
After an intense, hard-fought Game 5 of their first-round playoff series, the Indiana Pacers came back from a seven-point deficit with 40 seconds left on the clock to beat the Bucks 119-118 behind five of Haliburton’s points during that stretch.
Once the game was over and the Pacers secured their spot in the second round of the postseason, Haliburton’s dad went to taunt Antetokounmpo, which took offense to that action.
The Greek player called out John Haliburton for being disrespectful after winning the series, reminding him that he’s an NBA champion while the Pacers aren’t.
During Wednesday’s episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” Tyrese Haliburton addressed this situation, explaining that what his dad did wasn’t cool.
“I think he got caught up in the moment,” Haliburton said. “My dad has a big personality and after the game, he came to the floor to celebrate and I think that his actions were out of line and I apologized to Giannis, he apologized to Giannis, he put out a statement apologizing yesterday.
“It’s unfortunate what happened. This is no place for that and I think that he understands that, I think he just got caught up in the moment.”
“My dad just got caught up in the moment and obviously his actions were out of line..
I apologized to Giannis and he apologized to Giannis..
It’s unfortunate what happened and there’s no place for that” ~ @TyHaliburton22#PMSLivepic.twitter.com/HAMGsVTJoB
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 30, 2025
The Pacers eliminated the Bucks for the second consecutive season at the same stage. They are now headed to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Sunday, but it remains to be seen if John Haliburton will be with them.
Calls mounted for John Haliburton to be banned from games after his intense moment with Antetokounmpo.
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