Tyrese Haliburton Explains Choosing Pink Color for 1st Puma Signature Shoes

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton had a sentimental reason for choosing pink as the primary color for the first iteration of his signature sneaker with Puma.

The Hali 1s were introduced with a hibiscus design earlier this month.

"There's a bunch of different colorways that we have in our planning moving forward, but the pink was important to me because my first pair of real basketball shoes, my first organized pair, was a pair of pink basketball shoes," Haliburton said, per The Athletic's Jason Jones and Shakeia Taylor. "That was, like, fourth grade, at a time where wearing pink shoes wasn't a thing. 'Hey, that's the kid who wears pink shoes.' … We wanted to do something that was kind of a nod."

Puma couldn't have crafted a more opportune time to drop the Hali 1s.

The Pacers are tied 2-2 with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, and their playoff run has included multiple signature moments for Haliburton.

Even if Indiana ultimately comes up short, its All-Star guard has imprinted himself onto the national consciousness. Any list of the NBA's brightest young talent is bound to include him moving forward.

A lot of fans in Indianapolis and around the country will be looking to get a pair of Hali 1s when they hit stores in September.