Tyrese Haliburton Earns NBA All-Rookie First-Team Honors

One of the most shocking storylines on draft night was that Tyrese Haliburton fell out of the Top-10 and somehow, the Kings were able to draft him 12th overall. Haliburton was one of the best combo-guard prospects in this draft class and given his length, could be a very unique player for years to come. 

Tyrese Haliburton spent two years at Iowa State, but he solidified himself as one of the best combo-guards in the draft during his sophomore season last year. In 22 games a season ago, Haliburton averaged 15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds. 6.5 assists and shot 41.9% from three-point range. His playmaking and shooting abilities are what makes Haliburton one of the most NBA-ready rookies in this year’s draft class and is what will make him an impact player with Sacramento this season.

Given that Haliburton is a longer, athletic guard than most guards, he will give the Kings the ability to play a two, possibly three-guard lineup with Fox, Hield and himself out on the court at one time. Most likely, the Kings will utilize Haliburton this season as the back-up point guard, who can also play next to Fox on the court. 

Tyrese Haliburton has no limitations in terms of match-ups at the NBA level and it gives him the ability to play multiple positions on the offensive end of the court. Whether it is passing out of pick-and-roll situations or being able to play off-the-ball on catch-and-shoot situations, Haliburton will give the Kings a great offensive weapon and a player who will draw a lot of respect from teams around the league early on in his career.

There is nothing bad that can be said about Haliburton and he will wind up being a player that when we look back on this draft, we ask ourselves how he fell to pick No. 12. Teams will be kicking themselves for years to come for passing up on him as he will be one of the best rookies during the course of the 2020-21 NBA season.