Kings’ Tyrese Haliburton rises from 12th in NBA Draft to third in Rookie of the Year vote
Tyrese Haliburton came straight out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin by way of Iowa State as the No. 12 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
He showed up in Sacramento with short shorts and big ambitions, surprised by the cost of mattresses and adulthood but unfazed by the transition to the NBA game. Some said the jumper wouldn’t translate, but Haliburton proved there was nothing he couldn’t do with uncommon poise and precision for a first-year player.
Haliburton continued his rise from late lottery pick to one of the game’s top young talents Wednesday when he came in third in Rookie of the Year voting behind the Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards. Ball won the award with 84 first-place votes and 465 points from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Edwards was second with 309 points. Haliburton was third with 114 points followed by the Detroit Pistons’ Saddiq Bey with three points.
Kings coach Luke Walton praised Haliburton throughout the season for his impressive composure and instincts. General manager Monte McNair said the organization was thrilled with the early returns from Haliburton’s first season in Sacramento.
“We were really excited with Tyrese’s rookie season, of course,” McNair said. “But also in talking with him, he’s hungry to get even better — get stronger, improve on offense, improve on defense — but what he’s brought to this team already is fantastic and we’re looking forward to even more of that in the future.”
Haliburton, a 21-year-old combo guard, averaged 13.0 points, 5.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals. He shot 47.2% from the field, 40.9% from 3-point range and 85.7% at the free-throw line. He finished the season with 309 assists and 92 turnovers in 1,746 minutes. He ranked second among all rookies in assists, third in 3-point goals, fourth in scoring and fifth in steals.
Haliburton established himself as an early contender for the Rookie of the Year award when he was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December/January and February. Some considered Haliburton the frontrunner at one point, but he wasn’t as consistent in March and April and missed the last eight games of the season after hyperextending his knee. Haliburton said the injury won’t interfere with his plans to work on his game this summer.
“I feel good,” Haliburton said during exit interviews in May. “Obviously, it was very scary. I think a lot of people were kind of holding their breath — me as well — but we feel like we dodged a bullet in a sense. I feel fine. Obviously, there’s more treatment involved, but I’m not going to miss any time in the summer.”
Haliburton was the first Kings player named a finalist for Rookie of the Year since Tyreke Evans became the fifth player in franchise history to win the award in 2010. The only other Kings players to win Rookie of the Year were Maurice Stokes, Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Phil Ford.
Stokes won the award after averaging 16.8 points, 16.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the Rochester Royals in 1955-56. Robertson averaged 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists for the Cincinnati Royals to win the award in 1960-61. Lucas won it after averaging 17.7 points and 17.4 rebounds for Cincinnati. Ford averaged 15.9 points, 8.6 assists and 2.2 steals for the Kansas City Kings to win it in 1978-79. Evans, the only player named Rookie of the Year in the Sacramento era, won the award over Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings after averaging 20.1 points, 5.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds in 2009-10.
This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
