Tyrese Haliburton doesn’t exactly hide how he feels about the Knicks, but he also isn’t pretending the relationship is simple.
The Indiana Pacers star said he has “mixed feelings” about New York after watching the Knicks complete a championship run while he was stuck on the sideline. For Haliburton, it was a rough stretch on multiple fronts: a ruptured Achilles kept him out for a year, and he also dealt with shingles during his recovery.
That made the 2025-26 season a brutal one personally. Then the postseason added another layer. Haliburton had to sit back and watch the Knicks finally win the Eastern Conference and go on to take the title, a painful sight for a player whose team had come so close the year before.
Indiana was one win away in the 2025 NBA Finals, but Haliburton’s injury in Game 7 changed everything. He got off to a phenomenal start before the Oklahoma City Thunder ended up being crowned champions.
“Are the Knicks like our rival? Yes.
But like, are those guys like, I like those guys and like their friends? Yeah.
At the same time, you know, as I watch like a finals celebration when like I have before in my life like I watch because that’s like a special thing and like an emotional thing,” Haliburton admitted on an episode of Boardroom Talks.
Now he gets another chance in the 2026-27 season. The league looks different after that Game 7 injury, but Haliburton says he’s ready to do everything he can to help the Pacers chase a championship.
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