Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton opened up about the 2020 NBA Draft process and how close the Golden State Warriors came to selecting him that year.
The Warriors are heading into the 2026-27 NBA season with a presumed gap year in the eyes of most fans, as the roster around 39-year-old Stephen Curry is clearly lacking.
This was unthinkable a few years ago, when the Warriors had elite draft assets that they misused, as Haliburton’s example highlights.
Warriors were unwilling to select Tyrese Haliburton despite an elite NBA Draft workout
Haliburton appeared on the ‘Numbers on the Board’ podcast and discussed how the Warriors wanted to select him in the 2020 NBA Draft, but couldn’t afford to take such a big risk with the No. 2 overall pick.
“My Golden State workout, it was the best workout of my life… I didn’t miss… I knew I could play in that system. Steph wants to play off-ball, so I can have the rock and find him; I thought it was OD.”
“I was like, they’re drafting me. In the interview, they were like, ‘We know you’d fit us perfectly, but we can’t draft you at No. 2.'”
Haliburton would wind up falling to No. 12 and going to the Sacramento Kings, who traded him to the Indiana Pacers in his second season.
Haliburton has averaged 19.5 points and 10.1 assists on the Pacers, making a reputation as a playoff riser after his clutch performances in the 2025 NBA Playoffs led Indiana to the NBA Finals and an Achilles tear away from winning the title.
The Warriors selected James Wiseman at No. 2 and won a title in 2022 with him injured all year. Wiseman is already out of the NBA right now, unsigned after a stint with the Pacers last season.
The Warriors would also make bad selections in coming years, primarily their Jonathan Kuminga developmental experiment officially ending last season after years of acrimony.
What if the Warriors selected Tyrese Haliburton?
Haliburton would be untenable as the No. 2 pick in the context of that draft, so the Warriors would likely move down to a lower lottery pick to select him while accumulating additional assets for the future.
Wiseman was considered an elite center prospect coming into the league, which is why the Warriors felt comfortable selecting him despite him missing his entire freshman NCAA season.
A Haliburton and Curry backcourt would be fantastic right now, but the win-now Warriors reintroduced Klay Thompson into their lineup the next season and won a title after his two-year absence.
Not having Haliburton also allowed Jordan Poole to emerge as a key player in the 2022 title run, so Haliburton in GSW likely means their title run doesn’t go the way we remember it.
But having Haliburton now would make their long-term planning much easier, as they would have a long-term solution next to Curry and Draymond Green while also competing in the twilight of their careers.
Read more: