Two of the brightest young stars on the 2023 USA Basketball Men’s National Team are close friends off the court. That’s what Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said about his relationship with Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards.
“I’m excited to play with Ant. Me and Ant got drafted together. I see him as one of the guys I’m closer to in the league,” Haliburton said as a guest on Podcast P with Paul George. “I’m excited for him, man. And excited to play with him because I feel like our games flow off each other the right way.”
Haliburton and Edwards both recently signed max contracts, each worth up to $260 million if they earn All-NBA honors in 2023-24. Edwards was the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and Haliburton went 12th overall to the Kings.
“Exactly what you guys see on Twitter and social media all the time, that is him,” Haliburton said describing Edwards. He then shared a funny story from their time as NBA All-Stars when they were watching Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell shooting deep 3s during the 2022-23 All-Star Game.
“Remember when Dame and Donovan kept shooting from half court? Me and Ant sitting on the bench because we didn’t really play that much. We were just along for the ride at that point,” Haliburton began.
“Ant looked at me and he said, ‘He shot that b**** from Yucatan.’ I said, ‘Yucatan? What did you just say?’ He said, ‘Yucatan.’ I said, ‘Is that a real place?’ He’s like, ‘Nah. That’s how far that b**** was.'”
You can watch Haliburton talk about Edwards beginning at the 42:30 mark in the video below.
For the record, the Yucatan is a Mexican state known for ancient Mayan culture and for being the site of the impact crater from the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
