New York Knicks broadcaster Wally Szczerbiak had some choice words for Tyrese Haliburton after a recent Knicks win over the Indiana Pacers. Szczerbiak, a one-time All-Star selection who played for four teams in his career, blasted Haliburton for being a “supposed, wannabe, fake All-Star.” It is unclear why he did this — it seemed to be a way to uplift Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle in their efforts to make it to the All-Star Game — but even then, Szczerbiak really went in.
Wally Szczerbiak going in on Tyrese Haliburton on the Knicks postgame show
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— Kevin D. Water Law (@docKev_) December 19, 2022
Haliburton got the chance to respond to Szczerbiak during an appearance on Taylor Rooks’ podcast, and he made one thing clear: He’s not 100 percent certain who Wally Szczerbiak is.
Tyrese Haliburton responds to Wally Szczerbiak calling him a “wannabe All-Star”
(via @taylorrooks) pic.twitter.com/S9sdzz6Ixo
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 21, 2022
“I have no clue!” Haliburton said when Rooks asked what he did to Szczerbiak. “I know the name Wally Szczerbiak, I couldn’t tell you where he played, I couldn’t tell you what he did as a basketball player. I don’t know, he had a lot to say about me, and I was really questioning, like, first, who is this, and why is he talking about me like this?”
Haliburton went on to say that he doesn’t ever recall explicitly saying he wanted to be an All-Star and for people to vote for him, then attributed Szczerbiak’s rant to him being excited after a Knicks win and trying to get attention.
Haliburton is in the midst of a breakout campaign, averaging 19.5 points and 10.7 assists in 33.4 minutes per game for the Pacers this season.