Matt Barnes lashes out on NBA commentator for disrespecting Tyrese Haliburton: “Everybody in the world wants to be in the NBA”

Former NBA player Matt Barnes came to defend Tyrese Haliburton (of the Indiana Pacers) after Wally Szczerbiak's disrespectful comments. During a game where the Pacers lost to the New York Knicks, Szczerbiak publicly called the young guard a "fake All-Star."

Szczerbiak is a broadcaster for the Knicks, and him rooting for the team he works for is reasonable. With the Pacers down by three points, Haliburton missed a chance to force overtime against New York. From that moment on, the former NBA player started calling him a "Wannabe All-Star."

"Mr. Supposed, wannabe, fake All-Star with the big miss there... Last chance, down 3 for the wannabe All-Star. He's in his 2nd year, he's a very good player. He's not gonna make the All-Star team." Szczerbiak said.

His comments quickly reached the public as fans didn't enjoy his hot take on the rising star. Barnes, who has been retired since 2017, didn't appreciate the disrespect the one-time All-Star had for Haliburton. He posted his take on the situation on All The Smoke's Instagram page.

"This bum a** motherf**ker Wally Szczerbiak has just completely disrespected Tyrese Haliburton, who's leading the league in assists, calling him a fake All-Star and fake this and fake that, and it's just like, why? Like, what's the point of that? Like, what do you get out of that?"

"But I don't see why former players feel like it's their spot, or does it make them feel better to disrespect these guys. To me, this s**t is super weak. I don't like it."

"There's been 5,000 players in the history of the NBA. so that's why it bothers me when former players feel like they have to s**t on the younger players because out of the history of the game, only 5,000 people have ever played this game and everybody in the world wants to be in the NBA. So, these guys can respect and understand how hard it is for these young boys to make their way... to me you can critique without disrespecting and I though what Wally Szczerbiak did was some b**ch a** s**t."

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Tyrese Haliburton should be an All-Star, regardless of what Wally Szczerbiak thinks

Indiana Pacers v Sacramento Kings

Tyrese Haliburton is having an incredible season with the Pacers, who he's led high up in the Eastern Conference standings. Indiana has a 15-16 record this season, placing them in the ninth spot in their conference. With this accomplishment alone, Haliburton has a better argument for being an All-Star than most young stars.

Additionally, the third-year guard out of Iowa State is averaging 19.5 points, 10.7 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting 47% from the field and 38.5% from the three-point line. Haliburton is the league leader in assists per game and his facilitating has helped the team win a good number of games.

Despite how he was disrespected by Wally Szczerbiak, Haliburton's numbers speak for themselves and are enough for him to be an All-Star.