Why the Warriors-Pacers have a Steph vs. Haliburton matchup originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

When Tyrese Haliburton leads the Indiana Pacers into Chase Center on Monday, he’ll face the Warriors and the point guard he once hoped would become his NBA mentor.

That would be two-time MVP Stephen Curry.

As Haliburton prepared for the 2020 NBA Draft, the Iowa State star expressed excitement at the prospect of being selected by the Warriors and serving as Curry’s understudy.

“Since Steph is one of the best point guards to ever play basketball and probably the best shooter to ever play basketball, it would be great for me to learn from him and just pick his brain a little bit,” Haliburton told NBC Sports Bay Area in a pre-draft conference call. “And then take on that challenge in practice because if I can stay in front of Steph and guard, I feel like I could probably guard anyone.”

The Warriors, holding the No. 2 overall pick, selected center James Wiseman (now an inactive member of the Pacers). Haliburton went 12th overall to the Sacramento Kings, who traded him to the Pacers in his second season.

It didn’t take long for Haliburton to prove he was ready. He started 51 games for the Kings that season and immediately became the starting point guard for Indiana. Within a year, he established himself as a team leader and made his first All-Star Game appearance.

After a slow start to the season, the 24-year-old Haliburton has found his rhythm. In his last 12 games, he is averaging 20.7 points on 49.7 percent shooting from the field, including 41.7 percent from distance, and 8.8 assists. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.33 is fourth in the league.

The 36-year-old Curry is averaging 22.4 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting, including 41.1 percent from beyond the arc. He had an outstanding performance in a 113-103 road win against the Minnesota Timberwolves last Saturday, scoring 31 points, including 13 in less than three minutes.

The match between would-be mentor and would-be mentee will likely dictate the direction of attacks and play. Curry sees every game as an opportunity to prove he still has it, while Haliburton continues to make the case for the best young point guard in the NBA.

Curry and Haliburton were teammates only once, as members of Team USA that won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. While Curry was the star during the medal round, Haliburton mostly watched.

As a teammate, Haliburton would have been okay with this four years ago. Not now.

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