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Tyrese Haliburton has only just turned sixth, according to the Indiana Pacers, as the NBA franchise hilariously celebrated their All-Star point guard’s leap year birthday by getting him a giant kid’s card and calling him ‘the best six-year-old’ in the league.
As part of a surprise on Thursday morning, Haliburton was greeted with a cake by Boom – the Pacers’ mascot – upon his arrival to practice at a team facility parking lot.
The 2020 first-round pick (No. 12 overall) happens to be born on February 29, 2000. He previously disclosed that he usually claims two days – Feb. 28 and March 1 – to celebrate his birthday in the years when he doesn’t technically have one.
‘It’s exciting to have a real birthday,’ Haliburton once told the IndyStar. ‘In school that was always my, give a fun fact about yourself, that was always mine growing up.’
The Pacers play the New Orleans Pelicans for the second time this week on Friday, this time in the historic party city, but Haliburton doesn’t plan on spending a night out on the town while the team will be in Louisiana.
Tyrese Haliburton, a ‘leap-year baby,’ was greeted with a cake by Boom – the Pacers’ mascot – upon his arrival to practice on Thursday morning
the best 6-year-old in the NBA 💪drop some love to wish Tyrese Haliburton a happy birthday! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/Tnz5bGH7wt
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 29, 2024
Boomer surprised Tyrese Haliburton with a giant birthday card to celebrate his 6th birthday 😂🥳 pic.twitter.com/YdUnffyt7V
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 29, 2024
Instead, last season’s NBA Rookie admitted to buying himself more gifts than usual to celebrate the day he’s actually born on, which only comes around once every four years.
‘Honestly, when it’s not my birthday, I get two days to celebrate. So I would argue it’s just as good without my birthday because I get two of them, but for this birthday this year I bought myself more gifts than I usually,’ Haliburton said.
‘I celebrate it accordingly.’
The 24-year-old All-Star guard is averaging a career-high 21.4 points per game this season
The Wisconsin native, who is averaging a career-high 21.4 points per game this season, revealed that he once wanted to find out when he’d be legally authorized to buy alcohol or enter a bar while he was on the Sacramento Kings – the franchise that drafted him – but didn’t want to risk it for several reasons.
‘That was interesting because I really wanted to test that theory,’ Haliburton said. ‘I wanted to go to a club or something like that on the 28th to see if they would let me in. But it was COVID and I was in California. I didn’t try to buy alcohol or anything. I should have tried it that day just because. I’m curious if they would let me. I don’t know.’
Haliburton also recalled his 16th birthday, when he tried to take his driver’s test a day beforehand. He was ultimately denied.
‘It’s the two-birthday anniversary celebration of that,’ he said. ‘It snowed that day and I switched lanes in the middle of an intersection, like right away. So it’s like 15 points. That’s the majority of the points right there. I had to re-take it a couple days later and I ended up pᴀssing.’
