For only the second time since 1996, the Indiana Pacers' top player can call himself an Olympic athlete, and Tyrese Haliburton did not disappoint in his first outing for Team USA on Wednesday. After not playing a game since Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which was 49 days ago, Tyrese Haliburton has stepped onto the court again in Team USA's first Showcase game in Las Vegas against Team Canada on July 10th. Shortly after leading the Indiana Pacers to an unexpected Conference Finals run, Haliburton is back representing the USA in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Going into the game's 10:30 PM start time, the starting lineups were not known yet, and the team was still reeling from the loss of Kawhi Leonard due to knee problems and Kevin Durant's known absence from the first game due to a calf strain. As such, coach Steve Kerr went with a rather unconventional lineup of Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, and Devin Booker all starting, along with LeBron James and Joel Embiid, for a total of three guards in the starting lineup, essentially making Haliburton a guarantee to be the lead point guard off the bench.
With the backup point guard spot all but confirmed for at least the first showcase game, Tyrese Haliburton was expected to get a decent chunk of minutes en route to Team USA's first win of the Olympic season against Canada.
This would also mean more to Haliburton, as Team Canada includes fellow starting Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard off the bench, who recently made the team, surviving the final round of cuts. Without any further ado, let's see how Haliburton did in his first taste of Olympic-level action.