Tyrese Haliburton shares positive outlook on Olympic benching

Earlier this year, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton took him his first gold medal while representing Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. With this accomplishment, Haliburton became the first pacer to earn an Olympic gold medal since Paul George.

While this was an impressive achievement that further solidified the Wisconsin native's case as a rising star in the NBA, the experience had some downs as well. Haliburton played a very minor role with Team USA, logging in roughly 26 minutes across six games. Additionally, he was a DNP in three of those games, including the Finals against France.

However, playing a small role did not seem to bother Haliburton. In a recent interview, the 24-year-old reflected on his experience at the Olympics and gave a positive spin on his benching.

Tyrese Haliburton paid his dues during the 2024 Paris Olympics

Recently, Haliburton had an interview with The Athletic following his new endorsement deal with Puma (subscription required). In the interview, he talked about his time in the Olympics. Regarding his small role with the team, Haliburton made it clear he was not upset and that "everybody has had to pay their dues at some point."

"No, I never had that experience in my life. I think these are special circumstances, being surrounded by 11 of the greatest players in the world, so that’s all a part of it. For me, when you look at something like that, everybody has had to pay their dues at some point."

It seems that the Pacers star looks at his Olympic run as a small step toward something bigger, which may be the right call for him. Haliburton will be 28 years old by the time the 2028 Olympics come around. Not only is there a very real possibility he makes it back to Team USA the next time around, but Haliburton will likely make a much bigger impact on the court.

Given his comments, it seems that Haliburton feels believes this as well and had no isses taking a back seat to some of the NBA's greatest players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.

One thing that will be interesting to follow is how his game on an NBA court changes, if at all, following his Olympic gold medal. Haliburton was already fresh off the best year of his NBA career, both from an individual and team perspective. Now that he has achieved one of the highest honors any NBA player could accomplish, he may have some more confidence on the court.

Haliburton and the Pacers kick off their regular season on the road against the Detroit Pistons on October 23. From there, they will aim to follow up on their conference finals appearance from last season with an even greater playoff run.