Tyrese Haliburton reveals how Drew Hanlen’s unorthodox motivating methods with orange things: “24/7, all day”

Tyrese Haliburton has been the talk of the town ever since the NBA Playoffs kicked off. The Indiana Pacers guard has been phenomenal and proven himself as the most clutch player in the world currently.

The two-time All-Star has now scored 13 of his 15 game-tying or winning shots in the dying moments of the fourth quarter or overtime. The guard’s trainer, Drew Hanlen, has a lot to do with the development of the two-time All-Star.

After scoring just eight points against the Knicks on Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Hanlen gathered all the orange items in his house and placed them at his door. Haliburton had to step over them to leave his room.

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In an interview with ESPN, Tyrese Haliburton revealed his thoughts on Hanlen's method.

"That's all he talks about," Haliburton said. "24/7, all day every day. It never stops with that guy."

Hanlen placed the 'orange' things to help the Pacers guard gain confidence, remember the rim's colour, and perform in the next game. It worked as the two-time All-Star scored 21 points in game 6 to help his team win the conference.

According to ESPN, Tyrese Haliburton currently has the best field goal percentage in a single season since the play-by-play records were tracked in 1996-97. He has repeated the feat multiple times in the playoffs, with the most famous one being his game-tying clutch shot against the NY Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

His most recent one is his game-winning 3-pointer against the OKC Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday. The Pacers are set to meet the Thunder for game 2 on Wednesday.

Tyrese Haliburton's trainer revealed the one condition he set for the Pacers guard before working with him

Drew Hanlen is one of the elite trainers in the NBA. He has worked with big-name players in the league like Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal, Joel Embiid and RJ Barrett.

So when Tyrese Haliburton's agent called Hanlen to train the Pacers star and help him with his struggles, the specialty trainer posed one condition before working with him.

"The biggest thing holding [Haliburton] back was his lack of scoring aggressiveness. So I presented a challenge to him. I told him that if he wanted to work with me, he had to have 14 field goal attempts the next night against the Sixers," Hanlen wrote in his book "Stop [Bulls*****ng] Yourself".

Haliburton used to play for the Sacramento Kings when he was presented with Hanlen's challenge. The young guard responded by attempting 19 shots in the Kings' 103-101 loss to the Sixers on Jan. 29, 2022. He ended the night with a new career high at the time of 38 points and began working with Hanlen. Ten days later, the Kings traded him to the Pacers, and the rest is history.

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About the author

Avi Shravan

Avi Shravan's first year of college was the year he discovered his passion for basketball and the NBA. He has been an ardent fan of the sport ever since, from waking up early to cover games to watching pundit discussions, he does it all.

Avi is a big fan of Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks and Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves and firmly believes that the young star is the next big thing in the NBA.

Avi graduated in Mass Communication and Journalism, further enhancing his skills as a journalist and a writer. In his spare time when he is not writing, you can find him playing video games, watching anime, or reading a book he randomly picked at a bookstore.

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