Only the most experienced of the members of Team USA get to pick their own jersey numbers. Of course, the list would include Steph Curry,  LeBron James, Kevin Durant (who bagged the last three Olympic golds), Joel Embiid, and others. On the other hand, the younger players don’t exactly have any say in picking their favorite number. Now, jersey numbers are limited, or at least they were. The former rule had restricted players to choose a jersey number from 4-15. However, FIBA dropped the same rule back in 2014. Still, the Americans chose to follow this practice to maintain a tradition. And yes, this does mean that the younger players have to accept the jersey numbers allotted to them. The same was the case with Tyrese Haliburton.

Though young, Haliburton has proven to be one of the best players of the next generation. However, he isn’t as commanding on the national team. The 24-year-old was given jersey number 9 for the upcoming tour. Again, there’s nothing new about it, but the arrived jersey had the list of players who have rocked the same number. Coincidently, the list includes the great Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade. Now the list had a bunch of other players too, but these stood out for the Pacer.

Looking at Team USA”s history, James wore number 9 in his first Olympic appearance in Athens. MJ, of course, rocked the same number in the 92′ Olympics. Whereas D-Wade switched to number 9 in Beijing. It is safe to say that Haliburton got lucky as he mentioned the same, “I was given this number I didn’t, I’m the young guy so I just get thrown a number, so. Not a bad number to get thrown.”, said Tyrese. For the most part, sharing the number with these three players is already enough to brag about. Not to mention the other players on the list of number 9, including DeMar DeRozan and Vince Carter.

Haliburton deserves to be on this list as a rising star who’s shown massive potential this year. He led the Pacers to the Conference Finals for the first time in a decade. The sort of versatility he brings to the table isn’t common among players his age. He can shoot, score, direct plays, and is a threat off the ball too. It will be interesting to see him in Paris, as the youngster seeks redemption following last year’s blunder in the FIBA World Championship.

Tyrese Haliburton is on a mission

Things didn’t end well last year in the FIBA World Championship. Not only did Team USA miss the Finals, but they came home without a medal. Never did anyone expect such an outcome from the national team. Yes, the States bagged a Bronze in Athens 20 years ago, but that too was not the desired outcome. Tyrese Haliburton was part of the 2023 national team along with Anthony Edwards and others. This time around, the youngster has a lot to prove going into the Olympics.

Besides, the narrative about the World catching up to the sport better than Americans is just another piece of motivation to all the players. Tyrese will be playing alongside veterans and will have a lot of guidance on his way. Team USA will play Serbia in their first group-stage game on July 28th. The Americans already came up victorious in the exhibition game and will look to repeat the same in Paris.

What are your thoughts on Haliburton? Do you think number 9 suits him well? Let us know in the comments.

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