How Jalen Brunson vs. Tyrese Haliburton Viral WWE Confrontation Happened Revealed by Pacers Star

Two years after his confrontation with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson on an episode of WWE SmackDown, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton revealed how it all came together.

In an interview with Nick Friedell of The Athletic, Haliburton divulged that he didn't know about the segment or Brunson's involvement until he got to Madison Square Garden in New York City on the day of the show.

"Not a ton, honestly," Haliburton said. "I didn't even know we were doing it until I got there. I knew I was coming out in the Garden and people would boo, but I didn't know Jalen was going to be there. Then, Triple H was like, 'Jalen's coming.' I called him like, 'Where you at?' He's like, 'I'm pulling up.'

"And it's like, boom. They told us what they wanted us to do, we walked through it a couple times and were like, 'All right.' Then, we went to the back and watched the show together in [Knicks governor James] Dolan's suite. We were kind of hiding back there, and then, we came out. It was a lot of fun."

The segment, which occurred on a June 2024 episode of SmackDown, saw Haliburton corner Logan Paul, which generated massive heat since Paul is one of the biggest heels in the company, and Haliburton had just recently led the Pacers past the Knicks in the second round of the NBA playoffs.

When Haliburton tried to hand Paul a pair of brass knuckles during a Triple Threat match against LA Knight and Santos Escobar, Brunson intervened, much to the delight of the MSG faithful.

Knight went on to win the match, leading to an in-ring standoff between him and the duo of Paul and Haliburton.

Brunson entered the ring with a steel chair and stood side by side with Knight, though, prompting Paul and Haliburton to retreat.

Haliburton and Brunson are both longtime wrestling fans who have been shown attending WWE shows on multiple occasions, so their appearance on that episode of SmackDown after a Knicks vs. Pacers playoff series was a natural fit.

Last season, the Knicks and Pacers met in the playoffs once again, and Haliburton lifted Indiana past New York in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, Haliburton tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and missed the entire 2025-26 campaign as a result.

Meanwhile, Brunson has the Knicks three wins away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999, as they overcame a 22-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-104 in overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday.