Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton has lit the league on fire since his arrival in Sacramento as this year’s 12th overall NBA Draft pick.
The crafty guard has been hailed for his tremendous basketball IQ, passing instincts and funky shooting mechanics. The former Iowa State standout has already made a number of teams regret their decisions to pass on him during the draft, but Kings fans are overjoyed that they got such a steal in the late lottery.
Haliburton’s combination of instincts, playmaking and impressive perimeter shooting has led to comparisons to a variety of players. Lonzo Ball is one of the most common mentions, as both players have served similar roles for their respective squads this season. Both players handle a decent load of playmaking responsibilities, as well as spacing the floor for De’Aaron Fox and Zion Williamson to explode to the rack on dribble drives. Both guards are also reliably handsy on defense, contributing to a number of tips and deflections in the passing lanes.
The rookie guard’s loftiest comparison, however, is to one of the all time greats. Magic Johnson himself adorned Tyrese Haliburton with the nickname “Little Magic,” much to the astonishment of the freshly minted rookie.
Johnson was one of if not the greatest point guards of all time, boasting incredible career averages of 19.5 point, 7.2 rebounds and 11.2 assists per game across his 13 seasons in the NBA. In those 13 seasons, Magic Johnson made the all star team every year but two: his sophomore year and his final year.
While it is very early to compare Tyrese Haliburton to a legend of the game, his impressive start to his professional career is certainly an exciting look at how high his ceiling really is.
He is averaging 12.9 points per game to accompany his 5.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals. The talented young guard also owns a blistering 40.8% three point percentage on a lofty 5.1 attempts per game, as well as 47.2% from the field and 84.4% from the line.
Rookies often have trouble with efficiency, but Tyrese Haliburton has blown that expectation out of the water. He is also 29th in the league in assist to turnover ratio with 3.47, numbers that would make savvy veterans jealous.
The combination of all of these factors only add to the excitement of Haliburton’s so far short NBA career. But perhaps his best trait is his attitude. Judging from his facial expressions both on and off the court, Haliburton exudes a serious love for the game.
Whether he’s smiling after a clutch three, adamantly arguing for a foul call or dancing on the bench to celebrate a dunk, Haliburton displays an outward passion for the game of basketball. If he can continue to tap in to his great energy and improve on his already sharp skills, the sky is the limit for Sacramento’s budding star.
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