Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson couldn’t contain his excitement on Wednesday when news broke that the Los Angeles Lakers were being sold for $10 billion in one of the largest sports purchases in history.
The Buss family is selling majority ownership of the franchise to the CEO and chairman of TWG Global, Mark Walter, who’s also the primary owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. ESPN’s Shams Charania initially reported the agreement with Walter, who currently owns a minority stake in the Lakers.
Johnson, who’s part of the Dodgers ownership group alongside Walter, continued to rave about the purchase on X, writing that “Laker fans should be [ecstatic].
“A few things I can tell you about Mark – he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win! I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike – they are competitive people, [sic] have big hearts, love to give back, and both prefer to be behind the scenes. This makes all the sense in the world. I am so so SO happy and excited for @Lakers fans all over the world!”
Job well done to my sister Jeanie Buss for striking an incredible deal and picking the right person to carry on the @Lakers legacy and tradition of winning – Mark Walter, my business partner and friend! Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 18, 2025
In another post, Johnson praised Jeanie Buss, noting that the Lakers president entrusted the legendary franchise to the right person in Walter.
“I know that my sister Jeanie would have only considered selling the Lakers organization to someone she knows and trusts would carry on the Buss legacy, started by her father Dr. Buss. Now she can comfortably pass the baton to Mark Walter, with whom she has a real friendship and can trust,” Johnson wrote.
“She’s witnessed him build a winning team with the Dodgers and knows that Mark will do right by the Lakers team, organization, and fans! Both are extremely intelligent, visionaries, great leaders, and have positively impacted the greater Los Angeles community! I love both my sister @JeanieBuss and my business partner Mark Walter.”
Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers for $67.5 million in 1979. Under the Buss family’s ownership, the Lakers won 11 of their 17 titles. After Buss’ death in 2013, Jeanie took over as Lakers governor.
While Walter will own the majority of the franchise, the Buss family will retain a minority stake, and Jeanie will remain as the governor of the Lakers. In addition to the Dodgers, Walter’s business portfolio includes stakes in the Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), Andretti Global (racing) and soccer clubs Chelsea FC and RC Strasbourg.
Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson couldn’t contain his excitement on Wednesday when news broke that the Los Angeles Lakers were being sold for $10 billion in one of the largest sports purchases in history.
The Buss family is selling majority ownership of the franchise to the CEO and chairman of TWG Global, Mark Walter, who’s also the primary owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. ESPN’s Shams Charania initially reported the agreement with Walter, who currently owns a minority stake in the Lakers.
Johnson, who’s part of the Dodgers ownership group alongside Walter, continued to rave about the purchase on X, writing that “Laker fans should be [ecstatic].
“A few things I can tell you about Mark – he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win! I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike – they are competitive people, [sic] have big hearts, love to give back, and both prefer to be behind the scenes. This makes all the sense in the world. I am so so SO happy and excited for @Lakers fans all over the world!”
Job well done to my sister Jeanie Buss for striking an incredible deal and picking the right person to carry on the @Lakers legacy and tradition of winning – Mark Walter, my business partner and friend! Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 18, 2025
In another post, Johnson praised Jeanie Buss, noting that the Lakers president entrusted the legendary franchise to the right person in Walter.
“I know that my sister Jeanie would have only considered selling the Lakers organization to someone she knows and trusts would carry on the Buss legacy, started by her father Dr. Buss. Now she can comfortably pass the baton to Mark Walter, with whom she has a real friendship and can trust,” Johnson wrote.
“She’s witnessed him build a winning team with the Dodgers and knows that Mark will do right by the Lakers team, organization, and fans! Both are extremely intelligent, visionaries, great leaders, and have positively impacted the greater Los Angeles community! I love both my sister @JeanieBuss and my business partner Mark Walter.”
Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers for $67.5 million in 1979. Under the Buss family’s ownership, the Lakers won 11 of their 17 titles. After Buss’ death in 2013, Jeanie took over as Lakers governor.
While Walter will own the majority of the franchise, the Buss family will retain a minority stake, and Jeanie will remain as the governor of the Lakers. In addition to the Dodgers, Walter’s business portfolio includes stakes in the Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), Andretti Global (racing) and soccer clubs Chelsea FC and RC Strasbourg.
The Lakers may be the biggest team brand in the NBA, with the most globally recognized star on the team, but in many ways, they were a throwback — the Lakers were the Buss family business. The children of legendary owner Jerry Buss run the team as their primary source of income, all have roles in operating the team, and they own the team through a shared trust (they own 66% of the Lakers). However, without a massive outside income source, it has become increasingly difficult for them to keep up financially in spending off the court with private equity owners or individuals like cross-town Clippers owner Steve Ballmer (net worth $151 billion). For example, the Lakers have likely the smallest scouting staff in the NBA; it was just not where they spent money. The cost of keeping up has been getting harder for a team that has to turn a profit to feed a lot of mouths.
That’s why the Buss family is selling a majority stake of the Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter at a franchise valuation of $10 billion, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and confirmed by others, including NBCLA.
The Buss family will retain 15% ownership, at least for a time, according to the report. That is enough for Jeanie Buss to stay on as governor under the NBA’s bylaws, and she is expected to do so. This sale has to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors (the other owners).
This sale price sets the record for an NBA team, topping the $6.1 billion valuation of the Boston Celtics for their sale earlier this year (that sale is still being finalized).
Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million, and that sale included the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Forum (now owned by the Clippers’ Ballmer and is a popular concert venue). The Lakers have won 11 NBA championships since that purchase and have consistently featured some of the best and most popular players in the sport, including Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and now LeBron James.
Jeanie and the five other Buss children own the Lakers through a complex trust set up by Jerry Buss before he passed in 2013, and they could only sell if the majority of them agreed to the deal. While there had been rumors that Jim Buss — who was head of basketball operations for the team but was ultimately pushed aside by Jeanie as fans grew restless — and at least one other family member had wanted to sell for a while. The way the trust is rumored to be structured, the shares owned by the Buss children do not automatically pass on to their children (if one Buss family member passes, the split goes from six to five). With several of those Buss family members older than 60, it may have factored into the decision.
Walter is the CEO of TWG Global, a private equity company, as well as the co-founder and CEO of Guggenheim Partners. He is the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers (with Guggenheim) as well as the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, Chelsea FC of the English Premier League, the Cadillac Formula 1 racing team (as well as other auto racing teams) and the Professional Women’s Hockey League. He bought a share of the Lakers in 2021 — 27% of the team from Philip Anschutz — and with that, he was given the first right of refusal should the Buss family choose to sell.
Magic Johnson, the Lakers legend and part-owner of the Dodgers (and often the face of that management team), told Lakers fans to celebrate.
Laker fans should be estatic. A few things I can tell you about Mark – he is driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way. AND he will put in the resources needed to win! I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike -…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 18, 2025
Job well done to my sister Jeanie Buss for striking an incredible deal and picking the right person to carry on the @Lakers legacy and tradition of winning – Mark Walter, my business partner and friend! Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 18, 2025
What Walter has shown with the Dodgers is a willingness to spend. While the NBA salary cap structure — especially now with its luxury tax aprons — is not going to allow Walter to buy players in quite the same way he has with the Dodgers, there are certainly places he can spend off the court such as the scouting mentioned above. The Lakers do not own Crypto.com Arena — AEG, the Anschutz Entertainment Group run by Philip Anschutz does, and he also owns the NHL’s Kings — but have a lease that runs through 2041.
After a disappointing loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night that saw the Mets make a slew of costly mistakes, New York will look to rebound on Wednesday in the middle game of the three-game series.
Before the game, manager Carlos Mendoza touched on the loss and also gave updates on a few of his injured players.
Following a throwing blunder in the bottom of the 10th inning that led to the game-winning run to score, the 23-year-old catcher is not in Wednesday’s starting lineup. In Alvarez’s place, Torrens is behind the plate and batting sixth against LHP Chris Sale.
With both catchers essentially splitting duties so far this season after Alvarez began the season on the IL with a hamate bone fracture, the decision to bench the young backstop isn’t necessarily due to his misplay. However, Mendoza did say that both players will continue to get playing time even with Torrens struggling offensively.
“I’ve been saying it, they’re both gonna play,” the skipper said. “So I just thought getting Luis in there, it needs to continue to be that way. Alvy will play, Luis will play and I just thought today was a good day for Luis to be in the lineup.”
For what it’s worth, Alvarez took responsibility for his gaffe after last night’s game and was clearly upset about it. Nevertheless, his production offensively and defensively hasn’t been great this season and he went 0-for-3 with a walk and run scored in the loss.
The down year by Alvarez thus far is disappointing after he burst onto the season in 2023 with 25 home runs during his rookie season. He has just five extra-base hits in 115 at-bats this season and is hitting .235 with a .636 OPS.
Regardless, Mendoza has seen some signs that the youngster could be on the right track.
“He’s on time for the fastball,” Mendoza said. “Yesterday I didn’t see that, in particular, but I’m gonna go back to the past week where I feel like he’s hitting the ball in the air, he’s hitting the ball hard – something that we didn’t see early on when he got back from the injury.
“I like some of the takes, some of the breaking balls that he’s taking, so I do feel that he’s – I know he’s working and it hasn’t been easy for him, but the one thing with Alvy is he’s very positive and he’ll continue to grind through it.”
Despite leaving him out of the lineup, Mendoza knows how important Alvarez is to the team and that to get him out of the funk he’s been in, he needs to be in lineup.
“In Alvy’s case, the way you’re gonna fight through it is by being in the lineup. You can hit outside and hit early and things like that, but he knows how important he is for this team and we know how important he is and we’re gonna need him, obviously. So, we’ll continue to help him and work with him. He’s got a lot of potential,” Mendoza said.
On the injury front
Frankie Montas (right lat strain) is making his sixth rehab start on Wednesday and his fourth for Triple-A Syracuse.
It hasn’t gone well for the right-hander who signed with New York during the offseason, owning a 13.17 ERA (2.34 WHIP) in just 13.2 innings. In his last start, Montas managed to only go 1.2 innings and allowed eight earned runs on seven hits and a walk.
The Mets are hoping for a better performance on Wednesday as they near the deadline to make a decision with the 32-year-old.
“Let’s see how he feels after the outing today,” Mendoza said. “We wanna see execution, obviously, and then we have a decision. We gotta talk to him, but we’re approaching the deadline where we gotta make a decision on him.”
When asked if by a decision he meant using Montas as a reliever or starter with the big league club, Mendoza clarified.
“No, no like activate him,” he said. “Because first he’s gotta be 100 percent healthy, which knock on wood he keeps saying he’s fine. So we just gotta wait, get through today, see how he comes back tomorrow and the next day and then we have a decision.”
With the Mets in need of starting pitching help after injuries to Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill, it’s a bit telling that the team doesn’t seem eager to activate Montas.
Meanwhile, after DHing in his first rehab start, Mark Vientos (hamstring) is off on Wednesday. He’s scheduled to play third base soon and New York would like to see him play back-to-back games in the field before proceeding.
As for another third baseman, Brett Baty is feeling better after missing Tuesday’s game with a groin injury, but Mendoza and the Mets still need to wait and see.
“He’s better, but I gotta see how he goes during BP today and ground balls and things like that,” the skipper said. “But early on when I saw him he said he was feeling a little bit better.”
Who’s starting Friday?
The Mets still don’t know, but are working through it and will likely have a better idea tomorrow.
What they do know is whoever pitches on Friday will give them length — it will not be a bullpen game. Whether the pitcher starts the game or comes in after an opener like New York has done a couple of times this season remains to be seen, although the latter hasn’t been discussed.
“We’ll see,” Mendoza said. “Get through today, tomorrow, but we haven’t talked about a potential opener yet, so we gotta see what kind of shape we’re in going into that game.”
Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman (left knee inflammation) made his second rehab start with Double-A Somerset on Wednesday night and was dominant through the first three innings, retiring the first 10 New Hampshire Fisher Cats he faced, including four strikeouts.
Things then got a little messy for the right-hander in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Stroman struck out the leadoff hitter, but gave up a double to Charles McAdoo, who stole third and scored on a throwing error by catcher Rafael Flores. He walked a man, let up a single, and threw a wild pitch to give NH runners on second and third base.
The veteran was pulled after the wild pitch, ending his night after 55 pitches (34 strikes) and 3.1 innings. Overall, he allowed two earned runs on two hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
Coincidentally, Stroman also tossed 3.1 innings in his first rehab outing on June 11, allowing one run on one hit and two walks with four strikeouts.
The 34-year-old last pitched in the big leagues on April 11 and had struggled prior to the injury, owning an 11.57 ERA with just seven strikeouts over 9.1 IP across three starts.
Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the Dodgers, will purchase a majority ownership stake in the Lakers. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press)
The Los Angeles Lakers, a family-run business since Jerry Buss purchased the franchise in 1979, will be sold to Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter and TWG Global, according to multiple people briefed on the deal.
The deal is expected to occur with the Lakers’ valuation being about $10 billion — a record for a professional sports franchise.
Walter will now lead the city’s two premier professional sports teams.
Control of the Lakers went into a family trust after Buss died in 2013, with daughter Jeanie Buss operating as the team’s governor. The structure of the trust meant the majority of Buss’ six children — Johnny, Jim, Jeanie, Janie, Joey and Jesse — would need to agree for a sale to occur.
The Lakers didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The structure of the family trust, according to people familiar with it, doesn’t allow for ownership to pass down to heirs after death, meaning the split among the siblings would go from being shared six ways down to five and so on.
The sale was viewed as a massive surprise in NBA circles.
Jerry Buss bought the Lakers for $67.5 million in 1979 in a deal that included the Los Angeles Kings and the Forum in Inglewood. Buss sold the Kings to Bruce McNall in 1988.
Since Buss’ death in 2013, the family has dealt with a fair amount of tumult, including Jeanie Buss removing her brother Jim from his position as executive vice president of basketball operations in 2017. Shortly after, brothers Jim and Johnny attempted to rebuild the team’s board of directors without their sister. The situation was quickly resolved with Jeanie Buss cemented as the head of the organization after the takeover attempt failed.
Jeanie Buss reportedly will remain governor under the terms of the sale, representing TWG in league meetings. Controlling governors need to own at least 15% of the franchise to serve. The Buss family owned 66%.
The sale will end family-run control of the Lakers, who have achieved incredible success — 11 NBA championships earned by some of the league’s most iconic figures, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James — under Buss and his children’s leadership.
“I know that my sister Jeanie would have only considered selling the Lakers organization to someone she knows and trusts would carry on the Buss legacy, started by her father Dr. Buss. Now she can comfortably pass the baton to Mark Walter, with whom she has a real friendship and can trust,” Magic Johnson wrote in a post on X.
Jeanie Buss will remain the governor of the Lakers after her family completes the sale of the team to Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“She’s witnessed him build a winning team with the Dodgers and knows that Mark will do right by the Lakers team, organization, and fans! Both are extremely intelligent, visionaries, great leaders, and have positively impacted the greater Los Angeles community! I love both my sister @JeanieBuss and my business partner Mark Walter.”
In March, Bill Chisholm purchased the Boston Celtics from Wyc Grousbeck for $6.1 billion. Mark Cuban sold his control of the Dallas Mavericks late in 2023 for $3.5 billion.
And earlier that year, Marc Lasry sold the Milwaukee Bucks for $3.5 billion. Grousbeck and Cuban were two of Jeanie Buss’ closest confidantes among league ownership. At the end of 2022, Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion.
Walter and Todd Boehly became the Lakers’ largest minority shareholders in 2021 when they bought 27% of the franchise — a stake previously held by Phil Anschutz.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most successful and admired franchises in sports history,” Walter said in a news release at the time. “I have watched the organization grow under Jeanie’s leadership and couldn’t be more excited to partner with her and the entire management team. I am committed to supporting the franchise’s iconic status by continuing to bring together culture, community and entertainment to Lakers’ fans.”
Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is also a minority owner of the Lakers.
Walter was a relatively anonymous billionaire with extensive holdings in the insurance industry in 2012, when Johnson and Stan Kasten were the marquee partners in the purchase of of the Dodgers for $2 billion, then the largest price paid for a Major League Baseball team.
Critics scoffed at the purchase price, but Walter and Boehly then negotiated a record $8.35-billion local television deal with Time Warner Cable. Sportico this year valued the Dodgers at $7.73 billion and estimated that they generated $1 billion in revenue last year, highlighted by the global economic boost they gained from signing Shohei Ohtani to a record $700-million contract.
Dodgers owner Mark Walter helps Shohei Ohtani put on his new jersey during an introductory news conference. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers also won the World Series last year, their second championship and fourth World Series appearance in the last eight years.
After buying the Dodgers, Walter and Boehly explored buying AEG, the entertainment giant that owns the Kings and Crypto.com Arena. Walter subsequently bought the Sparks, invested in the Lakers and launched a professional women’s hockey league in which the championship trophy is called the Walter Cup.
If the Dodgers’ purchase is any indication, Walter might not make an immediate flurry of changes with the Lakers. After he bought the Dodgers, he retained general manager Ned Colletti through the 2014 season before replacing him with Andrew Friedman.
The beloved O’Malley family sold the Dodgers before the turn of the century, saying the economics of professional sports had exploded beyond the means of families with no other significant source of income.
Under Walter, the Dodgers have not only raised their payroll to record levels but invested heavily in areas that they believe help deliver a winner, from a vaunted analytics department to dietitians for their major and minor league players and expanded clubhouses with the latest in hydrotherapy. The owners also have invested more than $500 million into renovating Dodger Stadium, adding modern amenities to a 63-year-old ballpark.
Since Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, the team has had 13 winning seasons, four World Series appearances and two titles. The Lakers, in that span, have had six winning seasons, two trips to the conference finals and won a title in 2020.
The Lakers are entering a critical moment in the franchise’s history. James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, has a $53-million player option that he needs to either accept or decline by June 29. If he declines, he’d be an unrestricted free agent.
The team also is trying to sign Luka Doncic, whom it acquired in a shocking trade last February, to a massive contract extension functionally making him the future face of the franchise. He’s eligible to sign an extension on Aug. 2.
Times staff writer Jack Harris contributed to this report.
The Lakers will be sold at a $10bn valuation, according to reports. Photograph: Harry How/Getty Images
The Buss family is entering an agreement to sell a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers at a $10bn valuation, ESPN reported on Wednesday, marking the end of an era for one of the NBA’s most influential families.
Mark Walter, the CEO and chair of holding company TWG Global, is set to take the majority ownership under the agreement, ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania said in a post on X. Walter was already a minority owner in the Lakers and is also primary owner and chair of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, and the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.
The Lakers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The late Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 and turned it into one of the most popular and valuable franchises in all of professional sports, winning five championships during their now-iconic “Showtime” era in the 1980s.
His daughter, Jeanie Buss, took over as principal owner after Jerry Buss died in 2013, making her one of the most powerful women in sports. The modern-day Lakers have continued to attract big stars with mixed success, including recently with LeBron James, with whom the team won the 2020 NBA title. This year, the team swung a blockbuster trade for Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić.
Jeanie Buss will stay on as governor after the sale, Charania reported.
It’s Wednesday, June 18, and the Astros (42-31) take on the Athletics (30-45). Framber Valdez is slated to take the mound for Houston against Luis Severino for the Athletics.
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Astros at Athletics
Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Time: 10:05PM EST
Network/Streaming: NBCSCA, Space City Home Network
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Odds for the Astros at the Athletics
The latest odds as of Wednesday:
Moneyline: Astros (-162), Athletics (+136)
Spread: Astros -1.5
Total: 9.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Astros at Athletics
Pitching matchup for June 18, 2025: Framber Valdez vs. Luis Severino
Astros: Framber Valdez, (7-4, 3.10 ERA) Last outing (Chicago White Sox, 6/12): 5.0 Innings Pitched, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 7 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 12 Strikeouts
Athletics: Luis Severino, (2-6, 4.47 ERA) Last outing (Kansas City, 6/13): 7.2 Innings Pitched, 1 Earned Runs Allowed, 6 Hits Allowed, 2 Walks, and 1 Strikeouts
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Astros at Athletics
The Astros’ record in their last 5 games stands at 4-1
The Over is 23-14 in the Athletics’ home games this season
The Athletics have covered in 4 of their last 5 games for a profit of 1.59 units
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Astros and the Athletics
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Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Wednesday’s game between the Astros and the Athletics:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Houston Astros on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Athletics at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 9.0.
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INDIANAPOLIS — It’s the existential question: Play and take the risk, or play the long game even in the face of Finals elimination?
That’s what is facing Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton on the eve of Game 6 of the NBA Finals with his right calf strain, which he confirmed in his media session Wednesday. He wasn’t much help in the second half of Game 5, unable to contribute a field goal after injuring his calf on a turnover.
He went through the Pacers walkthrough, but coach Rick Carlisle said there wasn’t any real running involved. Sounds like he’ll be listed as a game-time decision.
“It’s a topic that people want to hear about and know about. There’s going to be a lot of questions about it,” Carlisle said. “We will not really know for sure until late tomorrow afternoon or early evening.”
Haliburton said “the plan” is for him to play, even though if this were a regular-season game he would be sitting.
“I want to be out there,” Haliburton said.
Kevin Durant’s Achilles popped in the 2019 Finals, two quarters into playing for the first time in a month for Golden State following a calf strain.
There is risk of a player missing a significant chunk of his prime, but the mindset of an athlete is to push even harder at this level. So sometimes, being smart goes out the window.
“I think it depends on who you ask,” Haliburton said. “You’re asking me. I think I have to be as smart as I want to be. Have to understand the risks, ask the right questions.
Tyrese Haliburton will likely be a game-time decision for Game 6. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NBAE via Getty Images
“I’m a competitor. I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play. That’s just what it is.”
Haliburton missed time during the Pacers’ playoff run last year, the final two games of their conference finals loss to the Boston Celtics, and was limited in last summer’s Olympic Games with an injured hamstring. That seemed to hinder his start to the season in the first 25 games before he rebounded and the Pacers made their run to the Finals.
If he plays and is effective, perhaps the Pacers can extend the series and send it to a seventh game back in Oklahoma City. If he doesn’t, it’s hard to foresee a path for the Pacers to continue this improbable run.
“I practiced today, did what I could,” Haliburton said. “I know Coach told you guys what the process will be tomorrow for me to play. Yeah, we’re just taking it from there.”
He listed the treatments he’s received in the last two days, the extra days the Finals schedule provides, giving him a better chance at playing in Game 6. Massages, needles, hyperbaric chambers.
For the series, Haliburton is averaging 15 points, 7.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds on 45 percent shooting. If the Pacers’ medical staff has to save him from himself, even in this situation, it feels like something he will consider in real time.
“Yeah, I have a lot of trust in our medical staff. I have a lot of trust in our organization to make the right decision,” Haliburton said. “I think there’s been many situations through the course of my career where they’ve trusted me on my body.
“They trust me to make the right decision on my body when the power is in my hands. I’m trying to try my best to do that.”
