At the end of March, Sacramento Kings' Tyrese Haliburton climbed to the number one position in the Rookie of the Year ladder, and since then he has been a constant top 5. "Obviously, Rookie of the Year is a great accolade. It would be awesome to win it. But at the end of the day, it's just an award. I'm not going to let it make me feel like I didn't have a good enough or had a great season," said Haliburton who believes hard work and a strong foundation are the pillars he has built his game on.
Interacting with Indian youth over the weekend through Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program, the 20-year-old reiterated that there is no substitute for hard work. "I wasn't given this position, it's not given to any player in the NBA, we work really hard for what we do," said the 12th pick of the 2020 NBA Draft.
Haliburton, much like his team Kings has had a bumpy ride this season. But the pick from Iowa State is living by his word. "You're allowed to be human and allowed to have bad days," said Haliburton. "But it's about how you respond to those bad days because you have to keep coming back and keep working harder," he said. "I am just using these losses as lessons from which I try to learn," he added. "When we lose, I remember that stuff and try to use it to get better for my next game."
With Covid-19 still not allowing sporting activities to resume as normal, Haliburton was excited to have fans back in their arena after local authorities updated their plans for their state. That's still not the case in India but Haliburton feels sessions like the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program give a sense of normalcy in such times.
"In a time like this where interaction is limited, and everyone has to stay inside, more than you would like," Haliburton said. "Such sessions are very important because you get a sense of normalcy and get a sense of things that one day we will get back to normal because our world is in a crazy time right now."
The 12-week Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA live series tipped off on March 6 and so far, Chicago Sky guard Sydney Colson and two-time NBA All-Star Roy Hibbert have featured along with WNBA players Azura Stevens & Dearica Hamby, Sacramento Kings assistant coach, Roy Rana, and WNBA legend Ticha Penicheiro.
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