Former player-turned-analyst, Wally Szczerbiak, has apologized for blasting Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, after calling him a “wannabe fake All-Star.”
Szczerbiak, 45, is a pundit for the New York Knicks on MSG Network. During a postgame broadcast of the Knicks-Pacers game, the former All-Star lambasted Haliburton for missing a potential game-winning shot.
“Mister supposed wannabe fake All-Star with a big miss,” Szczerbiak said of Haliburton … “He’s a very good player, he’s not going to make the All-Star team. Guys like Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson will make it over Tyrese Haliburton, and tonight we saw why.”
Szczerbiak has since apologized for maligning the 22-year-old. He retracted his vitriolic remarks and went on to say that Haliburton is firmly in the running for an All-Star nod.
“I want to apologize personally to Tyrese Haliburton,” Szczerbiak said. “He’s a wonderful young player and is definitely in the All-Star conversation, along with guys like Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson. It’s going to be interesting to see who makes it. All those three players are wonderful players.”
Tyrese Haliburton reacts to Wally Szczerbiak’s comments
In an interview with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks, Haliburton talked about how incredulous he was about not only what Szczerbiak had to say but who he was.
The third-year guard chopped up Szczerbiak’s comments to be merely clickbait.
“I know the name Wally Szczerbiak,” Haliburton said. “I couldn’t tell you where he played. Couldn’t tell you what he did as a basketball player. I don’t know. He had a lot to say about me. I was really questioning, first, who is this? And why is he talking about me like this?
I think he was just excited about a Knicks win. He’s just doing whatever he can to get attention. That’s just the media these days.”
Matt Barnes calls out Wally Szczerbiak
Before Szczerbiak issued his apology, former player and now co-host of the “All The Smoke Podcast,” Matt Barnes, condemned him for his gratuitous remarks about Haliburton. The 14-year veteran did not mince words talking about the analyst, calling him a “bum as motherf*cker.”
“This bum as motherf*cker Wally Szczerbiak has just completely disrespected Tyrese Haliburton, who’s leading the league in assists, calling him a fake All-Star and fake this and fake that, and it’s just like, why?” Barnes said in a video posted on All The Smoke’s social media page. “Like, what’s the point of that? Like, what do you get out of that?”
Additionally, Barnes questioned the proclivity former players have to call out current players.
“But I don’t see why former players feel like it’s their spot, or does it make them feel better to disrespect these guys.” “To me, this s**t is super weak. I don’t like it.
There’s been 5,000 players in the history of the NBA. so that’s why it bothers me when former players feel like they have to sh*t on the younger players because out of the history of the game, only 5,000 people have ever played this game and everybody in the world wants to be in the NBA. ‘So, these guys can respect and understand how hard it is for these young boys to make their way’… to me you can critique without disrespecting and I thought what Wally Szczerbiak did was some b*tch as sh*t.”
For the season, Haliburton is averaging 20 points, 10.6 assists (league leader), and four rebounds. The Pacers have a record of 16-16 — largely due to Haliburton’s exceptional play — and sit ninth in the Eastern Conference.
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