Haliburton was honored in his hometown by having his jersey retired at his alma mater.
Friday, Jan. 21 will be a day that Tyrese Haliburton remembers forever.
It was obvious he was in a spirited mood when the Sacramento Kings guard announced to Twitter himself that he had cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols instead of waiting for league insiders such as Adrian Wojnarowski or Shams Charania to break the news as they typically do.
Tyrese Haliburton has cleared health and safety protocols, sources tell me.
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) January 21, 2022
But why was he so elated? Haliburton was now able to attend an event that means a great to him.
Later that night, he made a trip to his hometown of Oshkosh Wisconsin where a ceremony honoring him would take place at his alma mater Oshkosh North high school.
After Oshkosh North’s varsity basketball game, the community gathered to honor and give thanks to one of their city’s greatest athletes. Haliburton’s No. 14 jersey was retired and now hangs in the rafters to remembered forever.
Here’s what Haliburton had to say about the honor via Matt Reynoldson of WFRV:
“It means a lot,” Haliburton said. “Before there were any aspirations of being a professional, or in college, I just wanted to win a state championship so it means a lot that I’m being recognized as a athlete here, but I think it means a lot more that a lot of people are showing up, because of who I was as a person. And the relationships that I created when I was here, so it means a lot.”
Having your jersey retired is one of the top accolades an athlete can achieve. It is proof of everything they worked for and accomplished. Although this has been a rough year for Haliburton due to his team’s lack of success in the NBA, this will certainly be a great boost to his morale as he is now able to get back on the court with the Kings.