Tyrese Haliburton hopes to mend fences with Damian Lillard - ESPN

Tyrese Haliburton said he wishes his relationship with Damian Lillard could be repaired after the Indiana Pacers star stole Lillard's Dame Time celebration during the 2023 in-season tournament.

In the first edition of what is now the NBA Cup, Haliburton hit a key 3-pointer with less than a minute left of the Pacers' semifinal win over Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks, then looked at his wrist — a la Lillard's celebration.

Haliburton told «The Zach Lowe Show» in an episode published Thursday that the midseason tournament was key for the Pacers ahead of their run to the 2025 NBA Finals but that he understood how his mockery move damaged his relationship with a player he said he had looked up to for «a majority of my life.»

«I think what I do regret more than anything is what me and Dame's relationship has become,» Haliburton told Lowe. «Because he was a guy who checked on me a lot early in my career, especially when I got traded [from the Kings to Pacers in 2022].»

Neither Haliburton nor Lillard played last season after suffering torn Achilles during the 2025 playoffs. Both are healthy again entering the 2026-27 season and played in preseason games this week.

Haliburton said he missed a chance to meet with Lillard, who returned to the Trail Blazers in the 2025 offseason after being waived by the Bucks, when he didn't go to Portland following a case of shingles.

«I would love to have a conversation [with Lillard] because I just think it became more than it ever needed to be,» Haliburton told Lowe. «Put it on me. I was young, in the moment, I was having fun with it, but it was probably a little much. And whatever happened from there happened.»

He added that he hoped they could «at least be cordial again.»

A meeting could take