Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton’s WWE storyline has come to life in NBA Playoffs

If you know me, you know there’s one thing I believe more than anything else in the world:

Everything is professional wrestling.

No matter where you go in life, there’s always a pro wrestling storyline, angle or one liner that completely describes the situation. It’s called redneck anime, but just like anime, it’s profound within all walks of life.

Now, let’s take a trip down memory lane, back to June 28, 2024. Friday Night Smackdown was in Madison Square Garden and everyone’s favorite heel Logan Paul was coming out to square off with LA Knight. Paul, however, brought a friend to the show: Indiana Pacers’ guard Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton is a massive pro wrestling fan, having appeared on NXT multiple times and went viral in 2023 for fanboying out over Booker T and Queen Sharmell (which I would also do). Paul and Haliburton were walking to the ring, jawing and yapping at rabid wrestling and Knicks fans, when Haliburton ran into someone in the stands that made him stop in his tracks: New York Knicks’ guard Jalen Brunson.

Brunson, the hero of New York, helped to stop Haliburton and Paul from jumping LA Knight by running in with a steel chair, also revealing that his hand injury was healed in the process.

Now, almost a year after these two faced off in the squared circle, they meet for the chance to go to their first career NBA Finals. This, folks, is what I call “long-term booking”. This is real cinema, people. These two teams have circled each other since last year’ s playoffs when the Pacers knocked out the Knicks in six games in the second round. Now, Brunson and Haliburton clash again, with the stakes being much higher.

Haliburton is easily the heel in this scenario. After being voted the most overrated player in the NBA by his peers, Haliburton went on a tear, leading the Pacers to series wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s taken up the mantle passed on by Pacers’ legend Reggie Miller in irking the Knicks fanbase beyond their wits’ end.

Brunson gets to be the hero, the underdog who grew his game from being the number two to Luka Doncic in Dallas to being the NBA’s most clutch player and reviving New York basketball. He also gets to be the one who helped take out the Boston Celtics, who will always be the heel in the NBA–because they are a gutless, spineless organization.

The fact that we’re getting this matchup in the Eastern Conference finals is a sign that more players should be on WWE television. Long term booking is back, brother, and NBA players could get that momentum and ride it to a potential Finals appearance like Brunson and Haliburton will. Knicks’ glue guy Josh Hart said it best:

Before the Pacers and Knicks tip off, you have to catch up on the storyline. There’s no better way to do this than with the sweet sounds of Limp Bizkit’s “My Way,” the song behind the most iconic wrestling video package of all time: The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 17.

You don’t have to be a fan of either team to watch this and not feel the blood pumping. Let’s rock and roll.