Former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Wally Szczerbiak apologized for his comments about Tyrese Haliburton on Wednesday night, one day after calling the Indiana Pacers guard a “wanna-be All-Star” during an appearance on a New York Knicks postgame show.
Szczerbiak was working as an analyst on MSG when highlights were shown of the Knicks’ 109-106 victory over the Pacers on Sunday night, and he criticized Haliburton for attempting a late 3-pointer to tie the game.
Wally Szczerbiak goes in on Tyrese Haliburton:
"Mr. Supposed, wannabe, fake All-Star with the big miss there… Last chance, down 3 for the wannabe All-Star. He's in his 2nd year, he's a very good player. He's not gonna make the All-Star team."pic.twitter.com/exSffecp9C
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) December 21, 2022
“Mr. Supposed, wanna-be, fake All-Star with the big miss there,” Szczerbiak said. “Last chance, down [three points] for the wanna-be All-Star. He’s in his second year, he’s a very good player [but] he’s not going to make the All-Star team.”
Szczerbiak’s comments spread quickly to Haliburton, who was asked about the remarks during an interview with B/R’s Taylor Rooks.
“He had a lot to say about me. I was really questioning at first like ‘Who is this?’ and why is he talking about me like this?” Haliburton said. “I don’t know if I ever came out and said ‘I want to be an All-Star this year! Please vote for me!’ I think he was just excited about a Knicks win and that got him going, but he’s just doing whatever he can to get attention. That’s just the media these days.”
Haliburton admitted that he didn’t know who Szczerbiak was when he first heard the comments.
“I know the name Wally Szczerbiak, [but] I couldn’t tell you where he played,” Haliburton said. “I couldn’t tell you what he did as a basketball player. I don’t know. He had a lot to say about me.”
Had Haliburton looked up Szczerbiak, he would have seen that he was the sixth overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft and spent seven seasons in Minnesota. Szczerbiak also made his lone All-Star team in 2001-02, averaging fewer points (18.7) and assists (3.1) than Haliburton (19.5 points, 10.7 assists) has for the Pacers this season.
Szczerbiak’s comments also didn’t sit well with former NBA player and fellow analyst Matt Barnes, who called Szcerbiak a “bum a** motherf*****” on his “What’s Burnin'” podcast.
Matt Barnes has a real problem with Wally Szczerbiak disrespecting Tyrese Haliburton in the midst of his breakout season. New #WhatsBurnin drops tomorrow 💨 pic.twitter.com/WvyArIDWmX
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) December 20, 2022
“I’m just like why?” Barnes asked. “Like what’s the point of that? Like what do you get out of that? … I don’t see why former players see why it’s their spot. Does it make them feel better to disrespect these guys? To me, this s*** is super weak. I don’t like it.”
The criticism must have reached Sczcerbiak, who apologized to Haliburton prior to the Knicks’ game agaisnt the Raptors on Wednesday night.
Wally Szczerbiak: "I want to address something I said about Tyrese Haliburton being a 'wannabe All-Star': I want to apologize personally to Tyrese Haliburton…wonderful young player…definitely in the All-Star conversation – along with guys like Julius Randle & Jalen Brunson…" pic.twitter.com/rvt7YZZ4Wm
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) December 22, 2022
“I want to apologize personally to Tyrese Haliburton,” Szczerbiak said. “[He’s a] wonderful, young player…definitely in the All-Star conversation along with guys like Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson.”
