Haliburton a finalist for 2021 NBA Rookie of the Year award

Jan 13, 2021; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) during the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Tyrese Haliburton is one of three finalists for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.

The budding star for the Sacramento Kings and former Cyclone was listed alongside the Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball and Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards.

Ball is currently the odds-on favorite to win the award with Edwards likely to finish second. Those two players were two of the first three picks in last year’s NBA Draft.

Haliburton, who the Kings selected with the 12th pick in the draft, averaged 13.0 points and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field this season before his year was cut short by a knee injury earlier this month. He also knocked down better than 40 percent of his shots from 3-point range and shot better than 85 percent from the free throw line.

While Haliburton likely will not be the one to bring home the award, there is little doubt he solidified himself as a potential superstar during his rookie season and more or less exceeded even the highest of expectations in year one.

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

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