Jun 5, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0), forward Aaron Nesmith (center) and forward Obi Toppin (1) react after a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game one of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Tyrese Haliburton Responds To Dwyane Wade's Comments After Game Winner

Originally posted on Chicago Bulls on SI
By Will Despart | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 8:56 PM ET

Tyrese Haliburton's thrilling game winner with 0.3 seconds left in Game 1 of the NBA Finals elicited an eruption of reactions on social media, though perhaps none were more notable than Dwayne Wade's viral celebration, in which he loudly declared Haliburton a superstar.

Wade's reaction was especially touching for Haliburton, who grew up a Miami Heat fan and idolized the three-time NBA champion. Haliburton and the Pacers' run this postseason has been compared to that of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks, who ironically beat Wade's Heat in the NBA Finals that season.

️ @TyHaliburton22 enjoyed @DwyaneWade's reaction to his Game 1 winner! https://t.co/4Mu8hDoFrz pic.twitter.com/oBJMFiWZPJ
— NBA (@NBA) June 7, 2025

"That's pretty fire because ... I'm well, well documented," Haliburton said. "I was a big Heat fan in that Heat era and D-Wade is a guy I've gotten to know pretty well through agents, our agency. That means the world because (he's) definitely a guy I've looked up to my whole life."

Haliburton's postseason now includes four game-winning shots, one in each series thus far. All four have come after 15-plus point comebacks; Indiana's five during this playoff run are the most by any team in a single postseason since 1998. The Pacers' Game 1 comeback joined the Chicago Bulls' comeback in Game 6 of the 1992 NBA Finals as the second 15-plus point fourth quarter comeback in The Finals post-1971.

“SUPERSTAR! SUPERSTAR!”

Dwyane Wade’s LIVE REACTION of the Tyrese Haliburton Game Winner pic.twitter.com/UgqSrZp2Cn
— Wy Network by Dwyane Wade (@wynetwork) June 6, 2025