Indiana Pacers
Tyrese Haliburton turned his game-winning shot in Game 1 of the NBA Finals into an ad — ’cause the Indiana Pacers star gave a big shoutout to his new signature shoes after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in dramatic fashion on Thursday.
The Indiana Pacers star unveiled his first line of kicks with PUMA on Thursday … hours before he nailed a deep two-point shot to break the home crowd’s hearts to steal the opening contest of the championship series.
Haliburton rocked the Hali 1s during the game … and led the Pacers back from a 15-point deficit to seal a thrilling 111-110 victory.
This is yet another clutch shot from the 25-year-old guard in this current playoff run … so a reporter asked him after Game 1 for the secret to his game-winning shots.
Haliburton pointed at the “Hibiscus” colorway version of his shoes he had sitting on the table … and it’s fair to assume he planned his response way in advance.
“That’s a great question,” Haliburton said, “The secret sauce today were these.”
On a serious note, the two-time All-Star praised his teammates for their performance and how they used the criticism from last year’s playoffs as fuel.
“I think as a group, we take everything personal as a group,” Haliburton said, “It’s not just me, it’s everybody. That’s the DNA of this group.”
Haliburton left Nike to join PUMA in October 2024, and famous New York designer Salehe Bembury created the lightweight Hali 1s with NITRO cushioning. They’ll be available later this year.
So even though he ditched the Swoosh … he still took a line from one of the shoe giant’s most iconic commercials with Michael Jordan and Spike Lee — going to X to say, “It’s gotta be the shoooeeesss.”
