“Leave That Man Alone”: Indiana Loyalty Runs Deep as Caitlin Clark’s Ex-Teammate Blasts NBA’s Brutal Jab at Tyrese Haliburton

Indiana basketball has never been more alive! Over the last year, both the men’s and women’s team have exceeded expectations with both their regular season and playoff performances. The Fever broke a seven-year drought, while the Pacers made it all the way to the ECF. While obviously it was a group effort on both sides, we can definitely point towards one name each on both teams–Caitlin Clark and Tyrese Haliburton.

The two stars have completely turned the beat around for Indiana ball. However, Haliburton has been ridiculed for his personality and the way that he approaches basketball. He has done his best to prove his doubters wrong through his performances, All-Star appearance and a conference finals appearance, but the NBA’s anonymous player poll in The Athletic dropped a bomb, with 13 out of 90 players—14.4%—calling him “most overrated”

Even ex-Indiana Fever star Erica Wheeler spoke out against the narratives surrounding Tyrese Haliburton. According to a tweet by BleacherReport, NBA players voted Haliburton to be the most overrated player in the league in an anonymous poll. And Wheeler? She was not having it. “Yall done called Tyrese overrated watch how he go for a 40 ball tonight and help the Pacers be up 2-0! Just cause he cute don’t mean he ain’t LIKE that!! lol leave that man alone!” Wheeler said on X, pointing out how consistent and dominant Haliburton has been!

This speaks heavily of the culture that’s present in Indiana. Even though Wheeler has left Indiana for the second time in this off-season, she still stood up to defend one of her own, and for good results too!

In their first-round matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers have looked dominant beyond measure. And even though Haliburton underperformed slightly in the first game, he got his get-back in game 2! The six-foot-five point guard put up a 21-point double-double, hanging onto a two point lead late in the fourth quarter.

What was really heartwarming was Caitlin Clark’s support for the Pacers during this crucial game 2. The Indiana Fever star showed out for their men’s team alongside Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston. However, some of her words caused an absolute uproar in the crowd. What exactly did she say? Let’s find out!

Caitlin Clark’s fierce flex caught fans by surprise

We all know Caitlin Clark is one of the most competitive athletes currently. She wants to win at everything she does, and we can’t fault her for it–that’s why she’s great! Her fire’s no joke; she’s been arguing calls and hyping crowds since her WNBA debut, and she brings that same energy to Pacers games. However, she sometimes does take it a little bit too far.

The six-foot-tall point guard for the Indiana Fever has shown up for Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers during this postseason run so far. And we know what she’s like when she’s watching games–out of her seat, yelling, arguing for fouls, the whole shebang. Her behavior was no different after the Pacers sealed a tough Game 2 victory!

Clark, while she was leaving the arena, was heard saying “hit the Bucks guy’s face!” to the Indiana fans, causing a major uproar in the stadium. This is not the first time that the Fever star has shown her competitive side, and it was frankly quite heartwarming to see her unconditional support for the Pacers.

It will be interesting to see how Haliburton and his boys do moving forward, especially with the entire Fever squad ready to back them up! There’s no doubt that Indiana has the opportunity to make a deep playoff run, especially with how they’ve started the first round, but they will have to keep their foot on the gas. Mess with Haliburton, though, and all of Indy—players, fans, everybody—will let you know what’s up.