The building located at 127 E. Michigan St. in downtown Indianapolis has a 60-foot mural on its side. It shows the most adored basketball player in the city.
The person who faced off against Shaquille O'Neal, Patrick Ewing, and Michael Jordan. The one that still has posters on the walls of neighborhood pubs and barbershops. The person who, despite never having been a champion, always gets a round of applause when he returns home.
On the "All The Smoke" podcast, Reggie Miller recently stated, "It will always bother me not winning a chip." "It simply hurts me because I had opportunities."
Here, Miller is more than just a legend. A folk hero is the finest Indiana Pacer ever. If you mention the Hall of Famer to people who saw him play at his best, they will remark that even if Miller lost the 2000 NBA Finals by two games, he still deserves a ring. They will also contend that Miller is deserving of far more than that mural, even in the absence of it.
Only one player in the city currently has a statue outside of his former workplace, Peyton Manning, but he deserves his own, which might be constructed someday.
In front of Lucas Oil Stadium, a nine-foot bronze statue of the former Indianapolis Colts quarterback and Hall of Famer celebrates his life. In the Indianapolis area, he is the only athlete who is as popular as Miller, if not more so.
Tyrese Haliburton might accompany them.
The 25-year-old has inspired the city, if not the entire state, with his heroics in the closing moments of recent postseason games. Additionally, Haliburton's clutch gene has brought back memories of Bobby Plump for gray-haired Hoosiers.
In the 1954 state championship, the local star made the most famous shot in Indiana high school basketball history: a pull-up jumper at the last second that helped Milan (161 students) overcome Muncie Central (1,662 students). Milan served as an inspiration for the film "Hoosiers."
Tyrese Haliburton is attempting to guide a No. 4 seed to an NBA championship for the first time in 56 years while simultaneously leading his own "Hoosiers"-style run. Before Haliburton makes another critical shot, it seems as though Jimmy Chitwood, the film's star player, is whispering his well-known statement, "I will make it," in his ear.
This playoff run has seen four of them, specifically one in each round. Haliburton's clutch baskets have tied or won games four times when the Pacers have fallen behind in the last five seconds of a game.
The most recent instance? In his NBA Finals debut, he made a 21-foot shot with 0.3 seconds remaining to silence the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"I always have faith in our squad. After Indiana won Game 1 by a single point, Haliburton told ESPN's Scott Van Pelt, "I never lose belief (in myself)." "We are probably in trouble if I stop believing in taking a shot at the end of a game. I simply need to persevere, maintain my confidence, and continue making plays.
The Pacers' head of basketball operations, Kevin Pritchard, recognized Haliburton's potential before many others did. He publicly expressed his belief before Haliburton's stunning performance in front of a sold-out Thunder crowd.
Before Haliburton ever played a game with the Pacers, Pritchard declared him the next Indianapolis legend. He had acquired Haliburton from the Sacramento Kings in a February 2022 deal.
Hours before Haliburton's franchise debut, Pritchard stated, "We believe that Tyrese can truly grow into something exceptional at 21 years old when we put the ball more in his hands." "I think it is like getting the Peytons and Andrew Lucks when you have those kinds of athletes."
It felt like Pritchard did Haliburton, a promise but mainly unfulfilled player, a disservice when he said those remarks, knowing that it is almost impossible for any newcomer to match up to Manning's effect in Indianapolis.
It felt incredibly premature to even bring up Haliburton alongside Luck, who was headed for his own Hall of Fame before injuries pushed him into an early retirement. Manning won one Super Bowl in 2007 and guided the Colts to two more. In just his third season, Luck guided the Colts to the AFC Championship.
Even if Pritchard's audacious vote of confidence increased the pressure on Haliburton to turn around the Pacers' fortunes, he had already succeeded. He has guided the Pacers to their first NBA Finals berth in 25 years in just his third full season with the team.
They are currently knotted 1-1 with the Thunder as the series moves to Indiana for Game 3 on Wednesday. He will need to improve on his performance from Game 2's crushing defeat (17 points overall but just five points in the first three quarters), but he is reliable to recover.
The tenacity with which Haliburton has handled the heightened scrutiny of celebrity during the season supports their conviction.
On the evening that Indiana defeated the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, Myles Turner, the Pacer with the longest stay, was proud of Haliburton's handling of everything. There is a lot of pressure to be the main character. Even though everything happened so quickly, he did a fantastic job of gathering himself and being there when it counted most.
"So, it seems sense to suggest that he is the Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning of the city."
Haliburton's career trajectory over the past three or more seasons after his move to Indiana suggests that he will probably one day have his jersey in the rafters of Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Haliburton is in rarefied air after receiving two NBA All-Star nominations, two All-NBA third-team selections, an Olympic gold medal, and an NBA Finals trip. Miller is the only other player to achieve such accomplishments while wearing a Pacers uniform.
However, Haliburton is the first to acknowledge that he has had his share of upheaval, regardless of how some may perceive his quick ascent.
There have been moments of vulnerability mixed with seeds of doubt amid the memorable moments, such as when he jumped on the scorer's table after the Milwaukee Bucks' season ended with a game-winning layup in the first round or when Dwyane Wade referred to him as a "cold motherf" after he silenced the Thunder with his game-winning jump shot in the finals.
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Furthermore, Haliburton, in contrast to the majority of sportsmen, declines to repeat the same cliches that have become part of the sports language.
Rather, he has frequently used his media availability as an additional form of rehabilitation.
The outfit Haliburton wore during his first media scrum following his trade from the Kings to the Pacers would be the face of heartbreak if there were such a thing. He did not minimize the agonizing injury. He bent over it.
It is frightening. He remarked, "I put a lot of love and confidence into Sacramento." "Being someone who loves deeply is one of my best qualities. It has the potential to be both my greatest strength and weakness.
Haliburton openly acknowledged that he had snapped at his inner circle during the worst shooting slump of his career last season. "You only need to smile," is how everyone responds to me at the moment. Enjoy yourself more. And I believe that, in being truthful, I have had these candid discussions like, "What is there to be happy about?" he said.
There were still alone and frightening hours at the start of this year's amazing marathon. Before Haliburton ultimately told his loved ones and sought therapy, he could feel himself sinking into what he called basketball depression following a loss to New York in the season's second game, where he went scoreless.
He told The Athletic, "I was having a hard time looking at myself in the mirror."
The Pacers star talks about how he faced his mental health issues head-on and how they "consumed" him early in the season.
The nonlinear yet theoretical ascent of Haliburton has also served as a voyage of self-awareness and self-assurance.
Now that he is playing on the biggest stage of his life, Indiana is only three victories away from its first NBA championship. He feels that the difficult times have given him the perspective and drive he needs to tackle these forthcoming games.
Haliburton stated last week, "I believe the most important thing for me is just knowing that I am a human being." "I believe that I am viewed even more favorably by the public when I perform well, and you are always viewed less favorably when I perform poorly. People will say things to you that could slightly dehumanize you. … Simply understanding where your tranquility lies.
That has turned into my family and friends. That has turned into the Lord. For me, those two items have been crucial in helping me ground myself.
Miller has enjoyed seeing his successor figure things out. Miller was courtside commentating for TNT when the Pacers punched their ticket to the finals. With his funky jumper and occasional choke sign, the new franchise face possesses a similar bravado that Miller once possessed.
Haliburton's willingness to challenge himself is also a result of the league's status quo, which has allowed him to accomplish what his predecessors were unable to.
During NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, Miller remarked, "The way his teammates look at him." They regard him similarly to how they regard LeBron James. They see him in the same way that they regard Nikola Jokić. They give him the same glance that they give Giannis. Like, "With this guy out there, we can do anything."
"I firmly think he can lead this club to a championship."
Although none of them are as large as Miller's, Haliburton has earned his own murals throughout Indianapolis while reviving the Pacers. He is not pursuing it, though. Paint alone will not be enough to make it genuinely eternal.
And it will take more than bronze for him to be content, even if he eventually gets a monument like Manning.
It will require a ring, with diamonds formed under pressure, that is only present in the championship game.
Haliburton stated, "I do not want to win any other way if we were to win a championship." "I do not wish to approach or circle. I would like to finish. The best team is what you desire to go through. You want to face the greatest obstacle.