Caitlin Clark turned 23 on Wednesday. As a birthday gift of sorts, Oshkosh, Wis., native and Indiana Pacers superstar Tyrese Haliburton offered the fellow in-state phenom at the point some more high praise.
The two have become fast friends, both complimenting the other on multiple occasions. Haliburton went as far as to say in Paris on Wednesday, on the eve of the first of two San Antonio-Indiana matchups there, that she’s become a face of the game.
Not the women’s game. The whole game.
“I think when it comes to the game of basketball, she’s probably in the top-five most famous people that are playing now, just in general. That includes our league as well,” Haliburton said. “And she handles it with such grace. She’s such a cool person. At the end of the day, she’s just a girl from Iowa who is just really good at basketball. And it’s really cool to see what she does.”
It makes sense that Haliburton and Clark would hit it off. Both are kids from the Midwest, both are the faces of their franchises, both are point guards who can score and shoot from anywhere and, obviously, both now call Indianapolis home. They haven’t collaborated on anything big yet, but Haliburton is hopeful that such a pairing happens.
Haliburton says he considers the Fever — not just Clark, the whole organization — to be “rock stars” at the forefront of growing the WNBA.
“Anything that I can do to help, I will. But I don’t think she necessarily needs my help,” Haliburton said. “I mean, she’s amazing. That group is amazing. To see what they’re doing for women’s basketball as a whole has been really cool. She’s spearheaded that, so I’m just glad to be a part of the journey and watch what she does.”