Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is preparing to make his triumphant return after tearing his Achilles tendon in the 2025 NBA Finals.
Haliburton took a year off to sit back, recover, and reflect on his NBA career. He decided to look back on his NBA career in an interview with Taylor Rooks and shared his thoughts on his 2020 NBA Draft experience.
Tyrese Haliburton Reveals the Team That Snubbed Him the Most
Haliburton was drafted No. 12 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. In hindsight, this is a shocking place for a player who has emerged as a true NBA star. The No. 1 pick in that draft was Anthony Edwards.
In a clip of a 2024 interview that resurfaced on X this week, Haliburton spoke with Rooks about how he felt about being passed up by so many teams. One team in particular stood out as the biggest snub in his eyes.
Tyrese Haliburton says getting passed on by the Pistons felt the most personal
Taylor Rooks: “Of the teams that passed on you, was there one that felt the most personal?”
Tyrese Haliburton: “For sure, Detroit. For sure, Detroit.”
“Because I mean, there were a lot of teams I… pic.twitter.com/oUmARYCH7G
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“For sure, Detroit,” Haliburton said when asked about which snub was the most “personal.”
The Detroit Pistons had the No. 7 overall pick and went with Killian Hayes over Haliburton. As we now know, that decision failed miserably.
“Because I mean, there were a lot of teams I wanted to go to,” he continued. “I liked Golden State a lot, that was like a dream. But I knew they probably wouldn’t pick me at two.”
The Golden State Warriors went with James Wiseman, which was yet another bad move by an NBA team in that draft. Haliburton proceeded to go through several more teams before talking about the Pistons, who needed a point guard that year.
“So with the Pistons, I’m like, ‘You need a point guard, it’s got to be me,'” Haliburton said. “Then I look at my agent behind the camera, and he gives me the look. Then it flashed up Killian Hayes, and I’m like, ‘What?!'”
The Pistons went with Hayes in a move that arguably set the team back several years, though they would recover by drafting Cade Cunningham at No. 1 overall a year later in 2021.
Haliburton ended up in Sacramento before landing in Indiana, but he still seems upset about the snub.
“In that moment, I was just angry,” he said. “Like, what do you mean they need a point guard and they’re not picking me?”
The rest is history, as Haliburton nearly led the Pacers to an NBA title in 2025 before the Achilles injury. The hate clearly still motivates him, and Pacers fans should be thrilled that the draft snub and the NBA Finals heartbreak could fuel Indiana’s season as he prepares for his return.
