Future Watch: Tyrese Haliburton Basketball Cards, Sacramento Kings – Haliburton acquired a most unusual description in the period leading up to the 2020 NBA Draft: beloved.
Commonly regarded as being somewhere on the second tier of talent in the lottery, the combination of his skills and off-the-charts intangibles – character, hustle, leadership and coachability – entranced scouts and coaches alike.
Perhaps that is the reason that one of the teams seemingly least in need of Haliburton’s services could not resist the chance to draft him. Sacramento spent the 12th pick on Haliburton, a tall point guard from Iowa State capable of defending either backcourt position, notwithstanding the Kings already having a stellar combo in De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield manning those spots. Absent the brief times when Hield moves to small forward, the three guards rarely share the floor together, which forces Haliburton to make the very most of the minutes that he receives.
Unlike the vast majority of rookies, he was able to do that right off the bat, notching double-digits in scoring in nine of his first ten games. The last of them, on January 13 against Portland, was Haliburton’s most impressive in the early stages, tying his career-high in points with 17 and pairing that with nine assists and four rebounds. Haliburton’s all-round game and consistency kept building as the season ensued, culminating in two eerily similar performances on February 21 against Milwaukee and on February 23 against Brooklyn: 23 points and five rebounds both nights with eight assists in the first game and nine assists in the second game.
As with every player outside the top tier of any modern NBA Draft, questions lingered about Haliburton’s consistency outside the all-important three-point arc despite his college success. Haliburton’s 13 points per game have been fueled in large part by his eye-popping 43% on threes and he has also tallied 5.3 assists per game, noteworthy for a player not even the lead point guard on his squad. Despite suffering a calf injury before the All-Star break that will limit his minutes in the near term, Haliburton is thriving despite stiff competition for minutes and establishing himself as the best rookie in the Western Conference this season, including, as seen below, capturing Rookie of the Month honors twice:
Future Watch: Tyrese Haliburton Basketball Cards, Sacramento Kings – Stats
| Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 20 | SAC | NBA | PG | 33 | 2 | 29.5 | 4.8 | 10.1 | .480 | 2.2 | 5.3 | .423 | 2.6 | 4.8 | .544 | .592 | 0.6 | 0.7 | .833 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 12.5 |
| Career | NBA | 33 | 2 | 29.5 | 4.8 | 10.1 | .480 | 2.2 | 5.3 | .423 | 2.6 | 4.8 | .544 | .592 | 0.6 | 0.7 | .833 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 12.5 |
Future Watch: Tyrese Haliburton Basketball Cards, Portland Trail Blazers – Other Resources
- Tyrese Haliburton NBA.com Player Profile
- Tyrese Haliburton Basketball Cards – Secondary Market Pricing
- Beckett Card Catalog – Tyrese Haliburton Basketball Cards
Future Watch: Tyrese Haliburton Basketball Cards – Image Gallery
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