They say critics make the best motivators. If that's the case someone needs to cut former player Wally Szczerbiak a hefty check after he called Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton “a wannabee, fake All-Star” earlier in the season.
Fresh off proving Szczerbiak wrong with his first NBA All-Star selection, Haliburton decided to have some fun on Twitter at the expense of the New York Knicks analyst. Haliburton earned legendary troll status after making Szczerbiak his new profile picture. Any pundit that underestimates the talented point guard might now have to take pause or risk being eviscerated on social media.
Szczerbiak did apologize for discrediting Haliburton's game shortly after making his comments. The player himself said the criticism “pushed me,” in an interview on Adrian Wojnarowski's podcast, The Woj Pod. It is hard to argue with him, given the tear he had gone on for the Pacers prior to being sidelined for three weeks with knee and elbow injuries.
Haliburton is shooting nearly 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range on the season to go with his career-high 20.3 points and 10.3 assists per game. He was undoubtedly a driving force for Indiana's surprise success, which since trailed off while he was out. The 22-year-old returned to action Thursday night and will now do his part to launch the Pacers back inside the NBA Play-In picture (currently a game behind the Chicago Bulls).
The rivalry between Haliburton and Szczerbiak just adds more salt into the wounds of Knicks fans, who passed on the Iowa State product in favor of the then-reigning National Player of the Year, Obi Toppin in the 2020 NBA Draft. The Knicks were not alone in sleeping on Haliburton, as he fell late into the lottery before the Sacramento Kings scooped him up at No. 12. However, there was perhaps no team in greater need of a point guard at the time.
Fans try their best not to twitch when they see Haliburton enter Madison Square Garden. Now, Szczerbiak will probably need to do the same.
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