An Indiana Pacers fan has immortalized Tyrese Haliburton’s epic choke celebration as a tattoo on their body.
Indianapolis-based tattoo artist Kiarra Baxter shared photos and videos of a now-viral tattoo depicting the star Pacers guard with his hands gripping his neck. The words “What the Haliburton” appear around the portrait with Rob49's "WTHELLY" as the background music.
The tattoo looks identical to the Game 1 moment when Haliburton sank an absolute prayer of a shot to force the New York Knicks into overtime. Right after the shot went in, Haliburton put his hands around his neck to show the world the Knicks choked — a nod to former Pacers legend Reggie Miller, who famously made the choking gesture during a 1995 game against the Knicks.
Haliburton and the Pacers went on to win Game 1 of the series. They eventually beat the Knicks four games to two to head on to the NBA Finals.
Prior to the decisive Game 6 win, Ben Stiller cracked a joke about Haliburton’s all-black outfit to the game by writing on X, “Good thing he brought his duffel for the flight to NY.”
Haliburton played the game, helped his team win, then hopped back on X to drop off a virtual slam dunk on Stiller’s noggin by writing that the bag’s real purpose was to “pack y’all up.”
That wasn’t the Pacers guard’s only post. He also wrote “YES ‘CERRRRRS” and posted a thematically appropriate clip from the classic Keanu Reeves film, Hardball.
Next up, to see if the Pacers choke in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. If they do, that tattoo might end up being a regret.
