The Tyrese Haliburton/Jalen Brunson rivalry briefly entered the squared circle, last year. And now, as the two prepare to meet for anywhere between four and seven clashes on the maple wood floors of Madison Square Garden and Gainbridge Fieldhouse, WWE are getting back in on the action.
Brunson's New York Knicks will meet Haliburton's Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, with the winner of the series advancing to play either the Minnesota Timberwolves or Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
Last summer, however, the duo were bringing brass knucks and a steel chair into proceedings, as Haliburton sided with Logan Paul and Brunson came to the aid of LA Knight during the June 28 episode of SmackDown, which emanated from Brunson's home court and WWE's home ground of Madison Square Garden.
Now, with the Eastern Conference Finals fast approaching, WWE have dropped official merch for each player, allowing fans to pick a side (if they weren't already Knicks or Pacers fans already, of course).
Jalen Brunson x WWE tee is back at #WWEShop! #WWE
— WWEShop.com (@WWEShop) May 19, 2025
: https://t.co/mHD2zmmqEQ pic.twitter.com/1VU6twAPu9
Tyrese 3:17 returns to #WWEShop! Don't wait - get yours now! #WWE
— WWEShop.com (@WWEShop) May 19, 2025
: https://t.co/GrVHhkfelY pic.twitter.com/SWV2tLRn6p
Ahead of game one on Wednesday, Knicks shooting guard Josh Hart revealed that plenty of other NBA stars will look to try their hand inside a WWE ring in the off-season.
"WWE writes a great script," Hart said. "So, there's going to be a lot of guys trying to get on WWE this summer."
In response to Hart's comments, WWE's Chief Content Officer Triple H quoted the above post, saying, "My phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since Friday. #SummerSlam is coming to @MetLifeStadium in August…"
My phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since Friday. #SummerSlam is coming to @MetLifeStadium in August… https://t.co/C8bId2qRDQ
— Triple H (@TripleH) May 19, 2025
So Pacers win the series, go onto win the Championship, then Haliburton drops it to Brunson in a ladder match at SummerSlam? Book it, Paul...
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