Tyrese Haliburton says De’Aaron Fox loves to point out how young he is

When Tyrese Haliburton was drafted by the Kings, he made it clear that Sacramento was the best place for him primarily because of De’Aaron Fox. Haliburton knew that he would be most impactful next to another ball handler both due to his style of play and the way the league has evolved. To play with a dominant point guard who was also young and could run with him was the perfect fit.

The chemistry between the two has been palpable. The one hiccup for Haliburton is that Fox, despite being about two years older than the rookie, loves to lord his experience over Haliburton and treat him like he’s much younger than he actually is. As Haliburton told J.J. Redick on “The Old Man and the Three” podcast, Fox acts much older than his age:

“Playing alongside him has been great. You know on the competitive side of things because you know he’s young at the same time but he always says like man I feel like a vet, it’s like you’ve been in the league for like three four years, you’re like three years older than me, he acts like he’s so much older than me. The other day a song came on in the weight room, and he’s like, man you weren’t old enough to hear this in high school warm up. I’m like, De’Aaron, you’re three years older than me. Do not sit up here and act like you’re 35. You’ve gotta stop.”

Haliburton later went on to say that Fox loves teasing him that he’s a 2000s kid when he was born in the 90s, at which Haliburton responds that Fox can’t remember anything from the 90s having been born in December of 1997.

The two players are clearly the foundational cornerstones of the Sacramento Kings going forward, and all jokes aside, the rookie Haliburton clearly loves being around Fox even if he has to dutifully play the younger brother role and be the butt of his jokes. There’s a genuine camaraderie that’s developing here both on and off the court, one that the Kings hope to benefit from for years to come.