Hope with Hali coming back the Knicks/Pacers rivalry picks up where it left off. This is exactly the attitude that makes it so fun to watch

This is funny and pretty human. Woo, my buds are winning, but fuck them also.

Respect to Hali for shouting out every Knicks player’s wife in this clip. He recognizes that winning the championship is a moment for the whole family, not just the guys on the court. He seems like he has true respect for them. Also, fuck Haliburton

There is nothing wrong with what he said. I think the Knicks are a legit great team and the players are very likable. Doesn’t mean it didn’t make me want to vomit when they beat my hometown Spurs in the finals.

I met him in a restaurant not too long ago. Nice guy, hope he returns at full strength. You know, fans take shit way too far. All these guys are friends off the court. There’s only like a handful of guys in today’s NBA that openly dislike each other that we all know about at least.

I think a lot of people, even this sub, takes rivalries too seriously

like Dmitch and Hali are clearly friends of the knicks players, even if the “pacers” and “cavs” aren’t

Too many fans cheering on that dude ruptured his achilles, bad taste

Hali is a dawg. I got the pacers over the celtics next year

Im so ready to see that Haliburton-Zubac pick and roll this season

Can’t wait for Knicks/Pacers again in the playoffs. Getcha popcorn ready.

Brunson and Haliburton are both huge WWE fans. Makes sense they personally like each other but love messing with each other professionally.

nobody has put more fear into me then those pacers teams. They’ll be back

I may get my New York card revoked for this one, but winning heals all wounds, and I really like Haliburton. I would love to see my squad beat the pacers just to silence some of those haters, but I would also be pretty happy to see them win being led by him.

Would be nice to beat them in the playoffs but a title is a decent consolation prize

I actually find Hali kind of likable - at least in these off the court interviews etc. On the court he’s easy to hate lol

This is a real take and I can appreciate it.

He was giving me corny as hell vibes two years ago but I respect the candid nature of this interview. Respect for that, he seems more mature… he’s got some aura going.

Kayfabe is dead.

Unpopular opinion but I really think the Christmas game should have been Knicks Pacers. The champ vs the last team to eliminate them (who is now healthy)

I hope he comes back 100% and kicks butt all season long, just so we can beat him in the playoffs and not hear that he was not 100

As a Knicks die hard. I love this shit. American sports (with the exception of hockey and weirdly baseball lol) has become wayyyyyyyy too friendly these past few generations.

My dream for this season is to get revenge against the Pacers in the ECF before going on and winning in the finals for a repeat. They’ve had our number going back to Melo and its annoying lol

I hated him so much playing against that pacers team knocking us out. But my heart broke for him when he got hurt man, that was guna be a legendary comeback, he was willing them to a win 100%. Hes not a bad guy even if I think hes a cornball when we play him lol

I can’t believe the Kings once got this guy.

It’s historically a rivalry but the recent iterations have been fairly lopsided.

The 80s and 90s were cool because seemed guys really hated each other and you had real rivalries. Then LeBron and his cohort ushered in the camaraderie era where everyone just seemed to want to team up together and we lost those rivalries. This new generation seems to have taken the best of both worlds… hate each other in the court but bros when the games are done.

Also fuck the Knicks (even though this iteration is mostly likable dudes)

In the words of ODB “love ya but fuck ya lemmie bounce this ball”

Emotionally mature human being this dude

Hali, that’s called empathy and means you’re a good person

The other part of the narrative here is that Siakam and OG were matched up with each other in two pivotal playoff series in a row after playing together for seven years in Toronto and being part of the bench mob

Same, Hali. Same.

He was very honest here. He said he felt every emotion watching the Knicks win and you can see it on his face

Rematch is gonna be lit.

A 2nd championship while driving a stake through Halli’s heart would be sweet sports vengeance

Awesome player Halli

Hali always turns it on against us. Hated him whenever he plays great against us but I respect him a lot.

This is how sports should be. Rivals on the court, friends off it if you want to be. Great mentality from Hali

I’m glad to hear him say this. As I got older I always hate rival teams but always liked/respected individual players. The Reggie miller + Knicks rivalry is what made 90s basketball so amazing for so many years. The same thing with Hali and many other players.

Hate the team, but like the players. They are normal people. Life won’t be as stressful.

Respect. It took him less than two minutes to say “That choke thing I did completely backfired”

Pacers are the only ones I was scared about in the east cause of their depth and teamwork + rivalry. Boston and Philly are our second and third homes so I don’t mind em at all.

The only guy in the NBA that can be legitimately called a Knicks killer. 2025 Pacers are underrated af. No team ever beat Brunson and the Knicks in the clutch.

Hali should hopefully get into broadcasting when his career is up. He gives me Reggie Miller vibes in his interviews. Unless he plays for your rival, i think it’s impossible to not like this guy.

Ultra mature response.

It rises far above the one note simplicity of, “They dont hate each other, and are friends off the court, so they must be soft.”

His response is what sports should be, no differnet than when we were young, played at the park with a group of good friends and It’s a bloodbath, and then you go out to eat together afterwards.

Not everyone has to be as cut throat as MJ or Kobe. You can still be fiery and competitive AF, and have deep respect, and friendship, for all involved.

It seems all the players from the 2023 World Cup developed a bond, but Steve Kerr had to mess it up.

The Pacers-Knicks rivalry is mostly for appearance and tradition at this point, the real bad blood and drama is with the Bucks.

I used to pray for times like this. Hali pls come back and stunt on these hoes!

I feel like it’s just another part of the rivalry that the way they lost to Indy in 2025 inspired how they won it in 2026. Even if Indiana wasn’t on the other side, we already know the story of how Mike Brown made the team watch themselves having to congratulate Indy to motivate them. Everything happens for a reason and it’s all one big story that got them to a championship.

There’s a timeline where the Knicks drafted this guy but don’t win chip. Crazy to have passed up on him though

One thing I will say about this Kobe generation (not a fan of Kobe but clearly a lot of these kids looked up to him), they have a healthy competitive streak in wanting to take each other down despite being friendly away from the court. Feels like a healthy balance and bodes well for the future of the league. A lot less talk of guys looking to team up.

It’s the leadership of the NBA that needs to get its act together, this has the making of a very special product but it needs the foundation to really maximize its potential.

I imagine the NBA is more like gaming nowadays where you hate the people on your own team way more than your opponent lol

Isn’t that what rivals are? Competition in good terms? If it were on bad terms they would be enemies.

our biggest opp is one of the most respectable players in the league 😡

I think it’s funny that the Pacers and Knicks are cool with each other and it’s a friendly rivalry despite how much it’s been built up historically, then you got the Bucks where there was clearly real beef lmao

your rival is the bulls and pistons….its just the bulls suck

Gotta be wild to see your friends achieve a lifelong dream, be happy as hell for them and then also jealous as fuck