Revealing the Friendship of Harry Clark: Each Brings a Partner 4 People to Date When I was in college, I refused to cheer for her

On June 14, Beijing time, ESPN revealed the fairy friendship between Haliburton and Clark in a long article. As the core of Indiana's two basketball teams, what is the relationship between them?

Haliburton made one of the greatest shots of his career in the opening game of the Eastern Conference finals at Madison Square Garden. The Pacers celebrated the incredible comeback victory, with a flood of congratulatory texts and phone calls.

But Haliburton had a problem: he left his phone charger behind in Indiana, so he was about to miss all the news.

At this stage of the playoffs, few people can get through to Haliburton's phone, let alone get a response. But there's one group chat that's always active, and Haliburton doesn't want to miss out on all the chats this night.

There are four people in this group: Haliburton, his longtime girlfriend Jade Jones, Fever superstar Caitlin Clark, and her boyfriend McCaffrey.

"We're chatting around the clock." Haliburton told ESPN.

The best player for the Pacers and the best player for the Heats are close friends. They don't just watch each other's games and send congratulatory messages on social media. The current "king" and "queen" of Indiana basketball would go on a foursome date with their partner, constantly talking about basketball and the pressures of superstars.

"The four of us often hang out together," Haliburton said of the four's date, "and she's been through a lot, as you know." She has a lot of pressure and attention on her. Apparently I have that too, but her pressure is magnified a million times. ”

Back inside Madison Square Garden, everyone wanted to talk to Haliburton after he made a great shot from a key position. The shot bounced high off the basket and then across the net to tie the score at the end of regulation time, before he mimicked the suffocating gesture of Pacers legend Reggie Miller to destroy the Knicks' hopes.

Meanwhile, Clark is away from Atlanta. In her hotel room, she was so excited about her friend's shot and the Pacers' overtime victory that she recorded her frantic reaction to the winning shot.

"I have a video on my phone that I never show to anyone," Clark told reporters in Atlanta the next day, "and I recorded my real-time reaction to the last shot." It's quite an iconic video. Maybe one day everyone will see it, but not now. ”

Haliburton has already seen this video. Of course, she's already posted it in the group chat.

"She was going crazy!" Haliburton said.

"I scolded too much [in the video]," Clark said explaining to ESPN why she wouldn't share the video publicly. She also said she has pretty much recorded videos of herself watching all of Haliburton's winning goals this season and saved them as a keepsake — or maybe one day for a project. The only thing she didn't record was the winning shot he made with 0.3 seconds left in Game 1 of the Finals against the Thunder.

"I was on video calls with [teammates] Sophie Cunningham and Lexi Hull all the game," Clark said, "but at the end, I thought, 'I've got to hang up the video, I have to watch this.'" I can't focus on two things at the same time. ’”

She thought about recording her reaction to whatever happened to the final attack.

"But then I thought, 'No, it can't be. Four times in a row? "So I didn't take out my phone against the Thunder, but I was going crazy standing on the couch." A few hours later, Haliburton posted Clarke's congratulatory post on social media to their group chat.

"I was like, 'Good ball, Ty [Harry's nickname]. Clark said, "How many times can you tell him?" That's great. ”

As a result, the strongest friendship in basketball exists in Indianapolis, where two 20-something-old stars are pushing themselves and each other to the pinnacle of the basketball world.

"Haliburton and I will tell you that this is where we all want to be for the rest of our careers," Clark said, "and people say, 'It's a small market. But no, that's what makes it interesting. These people, for them the whole world. It's been 25 years since we've held a Grand Final, and I've never seen such excitement. People start lining up three hours before the game. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. ”

"It's the same with the Heat. I think it's like [Pacers coach] Rick Carlisle said, 'In the other 49 states, it's basketball, but here, it's really different. 'I'm lucky to be able to play here, and he's the same. ”

Clark seems to have brought good luck to the Pacers in this playoff tournament. In those playoff home games that Clark watched, the Pacers went 8-0.

"Trust me," Haliburton said of Clark's impact, "I know. If I don't know, everyone will make sure I do. ”

Their friendship started fairly simply, a few years ago.

Clark's boyfriend, McCaffrey, a player development intern with the Pacers, played against Haliburton in college — Haliburton at Iowa State University, McCaffrey at the University of Iowa — but their friendship only developed after McCaffrey joined the Pacers.

"Connor and I always talk about [Clark's] journey," Haliburton said, "but until she graduated from college, I refused to cheer for Caitlin because I wouldn't be cheering for the University of Iowa." ”

As the season wore on, it became clear that the Fever had a good chance of drafting Clark with the No. 1 pick, and Haliburton finally relented.

Harry's girlfriend, Jones, is from Iowa, and by the time Clark rewrote the record in college, she had become a huge fan of Clark. Eventually, Haliburton decided to change his position. They went out for dinner and have been good friends ever since.

Since being traded to the Pacers in February 2022, Haliburton has played against the Heat. The team had a terrible season, with a 5-31 record, and the atmosphere was nothing like the raucous crowds that now fill the arena. However, when Clark arrived in Indiana, Haliburton had to buy season tickets because those sideline seats were in high demand. The Fever's average home attendance jumped from more than 4,000 per game in 2023 to more than 17,000 per game in 2024.

The connection between Haliburton and Clark is unique. They learn from each other, they push each other. "After a match where I had 10 turnovers, he would text me and say, 'Nice triple-double.' Clark said. That's how they push each other. But it's also their way of supporting each other.

"I joke with her," Haliburton said, "but she'll do what she's supposed to do." She will continue to grow. She makes the right choice most of the time.

"Basketball is a genderless language. We all just love the sport. ”