“Carlisle is going to let him play. Haliburton. Step BACK. AND HITS. TYRESE HALIBURTON TRIED TO TAKE CLEVELAND’S HEART. AND IT IS OVER”. The announcer in Game 2 of the Pacers-Cavaliers series certainly matched the energy of the crowd, as Tyrese Haliburton brought a close game in his team’s favor. Despite a reported hurt wrist, the point guard delivered throughout the matchup, but it won’t hold as much significance as the final 3-pointer he made that secured the Pacers’ lead at 120-119.

Unfortunately, the player could have chosen a different celebration mode, as his gesture in the aftermath of the shot might place him in trouble.

After Haliburton made the game-winning 3-pointer, he returned to the other side of the court. As he did so, he placed both his hands below and near his crotch. This was possibly a reference to the ‘Cassell Big Balls’ celebration, inspired by former NBA player and 3x champion Sam Cassell. Many other players, like LeBron James, have made use of it in the past. Unfortunately, Haliburton should have also known that LeBron was fined $15,000 for his ‘Big Balls’ celebration. Therefore, he should have been careful.

Though it is still quite early, we can presume that the league might not let that gesture go unnoticed. After all, if there is one thing the officials have cracked down on over the last few years, it is obscene gestures.

LeBron James hasn’t been the only player who has been fined for letting his hands get too near his crotch when in celebratory mode. Fans might remember how, back in October 2023, Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid made four WWE-style crotch chops in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The crowd was reportedly sent into a frenzy. Joe Dumars, the then league’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations, later announced that a $35,000 penalty would be imposed on the star.

In more recent news, Anthony Edwards got himself into trouble after getting into it with some Lakers fans late in the blowout win in Los Angeles. At one point, the 23-year-old reportedly grabbed his crotch and told the crowd: “I got $200 million [in salary]” and “My d–k bigger than yours”. As expected, Shams Charania soon reported on the player’s new fine, which cost him $50,000. As reported by ‘Rap TV’, that gesture brought Edwards’ total amount spent on fines to a whopping $370,000 for the 2024-25 season!

Knowing how people can lose a significant chunk of their wealth due to that gesture, you would think that Tyrese Haliburton would have some regrets over his actions. Right? Well, the player himself came out to prove to anyone who believed this that they were wrong.

Tyrese Haliburton has no regrets over the ‘Sam Cassell Celebration’: “I’ll take that fine, gladly”

Being the star of the game, it was obvious that Tyrese Haliburton would be hounded for questions at the end of it. Sure enough, Tyrese was immediately able to get into a Q&A session with Indiana’s Pro basketball team reporter Tony East. East did not waste any time in bringing up the celebration. Haliburton, showing no signs of regret, clearly said, “I’ve been waiting for that. It was right in the moment. I’ve been waiting for that. I’ll take that fine, gladly.”

Well, of course, Tyrese Haliburton will not mind paying the fine. After all, if we learned anything from LeBron James and then Philadelphia 76ers’ player Andre Drummond, who made the gesture back in 2024, the fine can cost a player around $15,000. Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers star reportedly holds a net worth of $5 million. On top of that, he is currently playing under a 5 year, $244.623 million contract!

Furthermore, it is not as if Haliburton goes around and collects numerous fines, like Anthony Edwards. Back in March 2025, the 2x NBA All-Star hit a game-tying three in the final seconds, and a game-winning free throw as he was fouled on the play.

Later, he revealed that he had the temptation to try the DX crotch chop. However, he didn’t since he did not want to be fined $25,000 by the NBA for the gesture. This just goes on to show that Haliburton’s recent game-winning 3-pointer was just too amazing to ignore.

Thanks to Tyrese Haliburton and other Pacers stars like Myles Turner, Aaron Nesmith, etc, the team has now won 2 consecutive games against the Cleveland Cavaliers. If they continue at this pace, then the Pacers can eliminate the 2nd best team of the 2024-25 season right in the 2nd round. That would be enough of a celebratory moment to allow Tyrese Haliburton to do another fine-imposing gesture.