The dynamic duo of Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam has proven to be the key behind the Indiana Pacers’ success this postseason.
An advantage of having a talented duo is that they can divide the responsibilities to rescue the team in critical conditions.
For instance, Haliburton has handled knocking down clutch shots, while Siakam has been a dependable veteran for the Pacers. That’s evident from the fact that Siakam won the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals MVP over Haliburton.
The two stars fit well alongside each other, but what’s the reason behind it? Well, it turns out Haliburton made sure of that before the Pacers traded for Siakam last season.
During the NBA Finals media availability, Haliburton calmly answered several questions about the current roster of the Pacers.
This included revealing his important pre-trade talks with the 2019 NBA champ and his current teammate, Siakam.
“I can recall everything about getting him here. We were in Atlanta. Had a pretty great conversation with him while I was at a dinner.
“Stepped aside and talked to him on the phone for an hour. I wanted to have a conversation, ‘Hey, is this something you actually want to do, do you want to be here?’” Haliburton said.
He added: “Because I think that the guys who have been a part of the nucleus of this group, we cherish this organization and what we’ve been able to build here.”
Haliburton then explained that almost every NBA Championship-winning team makes an excellent trade to take the roster to the next level.
“I think every team, when you ultimately win a championship or play at a high level, there’s a trade that happens or you bring in somebody from the outside to be a part of it and you don’t want to make the wrong move.”
Despite asking the important question, Haliburton was aware that he wouldn’t form a friendship with Siakam overnight.
Considering they have now been teammates for nearly two seasons, one may wonder what the friendship dynamic is between them. Well, Haliburton had a clear response to it.
“But this was just a conversation that I initiated because I knew the rumors and I wanted to talk to him about it. Very thankful I did, and we aligned on those things,” Haliburton continued.
“And I think that’s a big part of why we are where we are and the relationship that we have. We don’t spend a lot of time together off the floor.
“He lives in downtown Indy and I live more up north; so it’s not like we spend a lot of time together off the floor. But we talk very often. It’s a lot of basketball talk,” the Pacers star concluded.
In simple terms, Hali and Siakam may not be the best of friends off the court, but they are getting the job done for the Pacers on the court. Right now, Indy holds a 1-0 lead over the immensely talented OKC Thunder team in the 2025 NBA Finals.
