John Haliburton was “out of pocket” on Wednesday, but it wasn’t for an interaction with an opposing player.
The father of Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton caught some flak from his son over his wardrobe choice for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, which culminated in a 116-107 win for Indiana over the Thunder.
A clip circulated on social media of the younger Haliburton — who scored 22 points with 10 assists and nine rebounds — going up to his dad during pregame warmups and joking with him about the pants he had on.
“You’re out of pocket for them jeans,” Tyrese said as he dapped up his dad. “You out of pocket for them jeans.”
John appeared to smile and patted his son on the chest as Tyrese walked back onto the court.
It wasn’t immediately clear what made John’s wardrobe choice so egregious that his son took a playful jab at him, but the elder Haliburton seemed to be all smiles on Wednesday night as he returned to his courtside seat for the first time since he got into a confrontation with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 5 of the first round.
His seat was directly behind an ESPN cameraman behind one of the baskets.
John had not attended games in person following the first round incident until Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Knicks, when he sat in a suit far from the courtside view he usually had.
Tyrese poked fun at the situation following that game — a 130-121 win for Indiana — when discussing his dad’s return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“I know people were saying, ‘Free Pops’ and Pops is free, but he was not in jail,” he told reporters at the time. “He has a very beautiful home, very pretty to watch basketball. So he was just fine. I just wanted to win.”
John has become a bit of a folk hero for Pacers fans, with one local TV reporter posting to social media on Wednesday that she believed she found “John Haliburton’s biggest fan, and he just so happens to be from Taiwan!”
With the win, the Pacers took a 2-1 series lead in the Finals.