Tyrese Halliburton’s performance, particularly his jumper, had been a talked-about topic, especially since his father, John, witnessed it all. Following an incident involving Giannis Antetokounmpo during the playoffs, John decided to stay away from the games, both home and away.
However, a video making rounds on social media shows him in good spirits, celebrating his son’s miraculous buzzer-beater that helped the Pacers clinch a thrilling 138-135 overtime victory.
During an episode of TNT’s “NBA Inside the NBA,” Charles Barkley urged NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Pacers’ basketball operations president Kevin Pritchard to allow John back into the arena for upcoming games against the Knicks. He noted that John had already faced consequences for his previous actions and believed he deserved to attend the games.
Barkley stated, “It’s time to bring Mr. Halliburton back into the building… he did something really stupid, but he was punished.” He argued that John had learned his lesson and it shouldn’t be an indefinite ban.
There was some back-and-forth about the specifics of his attendance; Barkley pointedly mentioned that his father’s past actions might prevent him from returning to games in New York. John had faced scrutiny after a confrontation with Antetokounmpo following the Pacers’ win over the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo described John’s behavior as “very rude” when he reacted loudly with a towel. John later reflected that although he regretted the incident, he felt he never directly confronted the Bucks star.
