Kings’ Tyrese Haliburton knows all of the teams that didn’t draft him

Haliburton will be using draft night as motivation for the future to prove those teams wrong that passed on him.

Entering the NBA draft, Tyrese Haliburton was projected by many to be selected within the first 10 picks. So, when he slipped to the Sacramento Kings with the 12th pick, his descent down the draft board was rather surprising.

Fast forward to the last week of the season, and Haliburton has emerged as one of the top rookies from the class.

Haliburton, who was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, finished his rookie campaign averaging 13 points, 5.3 assists, three rebounds and 1.3 steals in 58 games this season. He ranks fourth in total scoring, first in assists and fourth in steals among rookies.

Needless to say, the Kings got a bit of a steal getting him at No. 12.

On Tuesday, Haliburton joined the NBC Sports California broadcast with Mark Jones and Doug Christie and delivered a message to those teams that passed on him during the draft.

While Haliburton didn’t channel his inner Draymond Green, and name every player drafted ahead of him, the 21-year-old likely has a list in his head of those teams that passed on him. He certainly played with that chip on his shoulder this year and will do so for plenty of years to come.

Certainly, Haliburton falling to the Kings proved to be a great selection for the organization. Falling that low will only motivate Haliburton to bounce back even better next season, and that could be a scary thing for teams around the league.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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