In just a few NBA seasons, Tyrese Haliburton has proven to be a top-tier leader and a player who can guide his team to the NBA Finals as a primary option, which he accomplished with the Indiana Pacers.
However, ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft – when the Sacramento Kings selected him as the 12th overall pick – Tyrese Haliburton was not viewed that way by every team, including the Chicago Bulls and their former Executive Vice President, Arturas Karnisovas.
Since hiring Karnisovas to lead basketball operations in 2020, the Bulls have gone 224-254 with just a single playoff appearance, while questionable draft and roster decisions have become increasingly common.
One of his biggest moves at the start of his Chicago tenure was selecting Patrick Williams with the No. 4 overall pick.
Most of the Bulls scouts and draft room wanted to pick Tyrese Haliburton but Arturas Karnisovas was fixated on Patrick Williams, per @JCowleyHoops
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) August 30, 2026
“Karnisovas didn’t even think Haliburton would be a top-four talent on the Bulls’ roster at the time.”
(https://t.co/TYPVIsQKBf) pic.twitter.com/goh6TjiUD8
According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, multiple scouts and the majority of the Bulls’ draft room preferred Tyrese Haliburton, but Karnisovas remained fixated on Williams.
Supposedly, he did not even consider Haliburton a serious option, believing the future All-Star would not rank among the four most talented players on the Bulls’ roster at the time.
The decision has aged poorly, considering what the 26-year-old point guard has achieved in recent years to become one of the NBA’s premier guards, while Williams has never reached anywhere near that status.
Beyond his incredible 2025 NBA playoff run – where he led the Indiana Pacers to the Finals while hitting several game-winners along the way – Tyrese Haliburton has been selected as a two-time NBA All-Star and a two-time All-NBA Third Team member.
