Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Familiar face workouts for the Indiana Pacers make headlines this week
It’s not often that the Pacers find themselves in the national media spotlight, but that’s exactly what they’ve found themselves in again. Sunday it was reported that the Pacers will be represented on Team USA this summer. While it won’t be in the Olympics, Team USA will compete in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, an event that still leaps onto the international stage.
Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Austin Reaves, Tyrese Haliburton, Bobby Portis and Mikal Bridges have committed to play for Team USA this summer 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qbi4DkiPFo
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) June 5, 2023
Team USA will be coached by Steve Kerr and will be looking to bounce back from a terrible seventh-place finish at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Other headliners along with Haliburton are Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson, both coming off career-best seasons. It’s likely this lineup can take back the gold, though that’s becoming more difficult every year as the international game continues to quickly close in on Team USA.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton and Nets rising star Mikal Bridges have committed to Team USA’s 2023 FIBA World Cup roster, joining Anthony Edwards so far , Austin Reaves and Bobby Portis, sources tell me and @joevardon.
Full story a @TheAthletic: https://t.co/pr93pzxFwJ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 4, 2023
Haliburton’s involvement continues to put Indiana back in the national spotlight.
There have been a handful of events in recent weeks that have continued to put the Pacers in the national NBA spotlight, with the NBA lottery, Haliburton in the Indy 500, Mathurin as a correspondent for the NBA National Finals and Haliburton doing national interviews. Being part of Team USA should put more of a spotlight on the Pacers in terms of fans and international eyes. This is a great development for both the franchise and Haliburton.
With each passing week, it looks like Haliburton may be the long-awaited franchise cornerstone since Paul George left years ago. Many have toyed with players like Oladipo and Sabonis who will temporarily fill the position, but Haliburton is young and developing into an All-NBA level talent who can hopefully bring the Pacers closer to their ultimate goal: finally winning an NBA championship.
