Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton has found ways to stay busy this offseason, including frequently attending Indiana Fever WNBA games as well as making a recent appearance at a WNBA event. It all comes in the wake of the devastating Achilles injury he suffered during the Pacers' Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
Recently, future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant, as he has been known to do, snapped at a fan on X, formerly Twitter, who questioned whether Durant was the greatest scorer ever.
“30k points on low fga. Ima coaches dream. Dime dropper, I mastered scoring at 24 years old man. Give it a rest, I don’t care about being the best scorer ever. You are diminishing my all time greatness callin me that,” responded Durant.
Haliburton then took to his own account on X with a simple but effective response, referencing a viral meme.
https://x.com/TyHaliburton22/status/1954360892960690234
Indeed, there's no denying Durant's place among the best scorers and players overall in NBA history.
An interesting connection
In a way, Haliburton and Durant are emblematic of two different eras in the NBA that have recently converged on one another.
Durant's prime came in the era where superteams and “Big Threes” were the wave of the NBA, and he won two championships after joining the 73-win Golden State Warriors back in 2016.
However, Durant has recently found out that this formula isn't as successful considering the depth of talent in the modern NBA, as his recent trio with Bradley Beal and Devin Booker with the Phoenix Suns crashed and burned in spectacular fashion.
Mmeanwhile, not many projected Haliburton and the Pacers to be legitimate contenders heading into this past NBA season, but Indiana proved that a cohesive lineup with a lot of depth and a consistent identity can outweigh star talent with the way the game is played today, and that's exactly what unfolded during the Pacers' shocking run to the NBA Finals.
While Indiana may have to wait a year to be back in contention with Haliburton sidelined, there's no denying that they've set a blueprint other teams will be desperate to try to replicate.
