Emotions were high in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Indiana had just come from seven points down in the final 40 seconds of overtime to win the game and the series on a driving Tyrese Haliburton bucket around Giannis Antetokounmpo. The building exploded in noise and celebration.
That’s when John Haliburton, father of Tyrese, raced out of his courtside seat, waiving a towel with his son’s face on it, and got in the face of Antetokounmpo. It was an obnoxious move from a parent with a reputation for being loud courtside, and Antetokounmpo deserves credit for keeping his cool.
Tyrese was not mindlessly sticking up for his father postgame.
“I don’t think that my pops was in the right at all there,” Haliburton said.
“I believe in being humble in victory, that’s the way I am,” Antetokounmpo said of the incident. “Now, there can be a lot of people out there who say, ‘No, when you win the game, you gotta talk s***, it’s a green light to be disrespectful towards somebody else.’ I disagree. I’ve won a championship, they haven’t… I love Tyrese, but having his dad one to the floor and show me his son’s face on a towel and say ‘This is what the f*** we do,’ very disrespectful. My dad, who’s not with us anymore, you come from nothing, you sell stuff in the street, you create a mentality of being humble.”
John Haliburton later apologized on social media.
I sincerely apologize to Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pacers organization for my actions following tonight’s game. This was not a good reflection on our sport or my son and I will not make that mistake again.
— John Haliburton (@PapaHaliburton) April 30, 2025
That was the only postgame incident between these teams where security had to step in.
It’s tempting to say this rivalry will carry over to next season, but we’ll have to see what these teams’ rosters look like next season.
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