Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is rarely featured in national TV advertisements, but he has a name mention in a new hit rap song reverberating around the U.S.—a cultural claim to fame none of his peers still active in the 2025 NBA playoffs have matched this year.
The song “WTHELLY” has helped elevate the profile of Haliburton and New Orleans born rapper Rob49 as the Pacers compete in their second-round series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Haliburton, who scored 22 points in a Game 1 win in Cleveland on Sunday, is referenced in the song’s outro, along with Halle Berry and LeBron James.
With more than 7 million Spotify streams, 1.5 million YouTube listens and hundreds of thousands of sound repurposes on TikTok, “WTHELLY” has gained the appreciation of the Oshkosh, Wis., product, who is on a quest to return to the Eastern Conference Finals for a second year in a row. Haliburton told reporters it was “fire” to have his name dropped on the song, which continues to pick up steam on social media. He also wore a T-shirt that read “WTHELLY” last week on the plane to Milwaukee ahead of Game 3 of the Pacers’ prior series against the Milwaukee Bucks, a five-game success.
Haliburton boosted his profile last year through an NBA All-Star bid, his first deep playoff run, a Team USA appearance at the Olympics and a WWE cameo. The “WTHELLY” name-drop has continued Haliburton’s climb to becoming a household name this season, and the Pacers are making a concerted effort to help him capitalize on the moment.
The franchise’s digital media and marketing teams have partnered with Rob49’s label Interscope Records to gain the rights to post the song on various clips and promotions featuring their point guard. The Pacers also sat Rob49 courtside at Game 2 against the Bucks, and following a feverish comeback to close out the series in Game 5, players blasted “WTHELLY” in the locker room.
Indiana will play Game 2 of the second round in Cleveland on Tuesday night.
“Our players love music, television and consume things like everyone else,” Pacers senior vice president of marketing and content Tyler Beadlescomb said in a video interview. “The genuine excitement that came from Tyrese and the team is something that we tried to carry through when we brought this [rollout] to life. … There was nothing about this that was forced. It was something that we all loved.”
Haliburton plays in a small media market and does not get the same airtime during commercial breaks as many other guards and wing players active in the 2025 playoffs. For example, Jamal Murray is a mainstay in New Balance ads, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is spending another year in AT&T spots (not singing this time, thankfully), Jayson Tatum is one of the faces of Gatorade and Anthony Edwards is seemingly everywhere. Even Jalen Green, the recently eliminated Houston Rockets guard without an All-Star nod to his name, is in a major Wing Stop ad.
That said, Haliburton isn’t entirely new to the spotlight. The ex-Iowa State standout has appeared in GQ Magazine and The Players’ Tribune and boasts endorsement deals with Puma and Movado. This organic music culture collaboration is a next step encouraged by Indiana.
“We love when the stars align and we can use our organization to lean in and create make some magic moments,” Beadlescomb said. “We think of ourselves as a major brand, and that means we have to welcome way more than just Hoosiers. We love our fan base, but we want fans all over.”
The love affair culminated on April 22 when Rob49 arrived to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Game 2. The 26-year-old rapper sat courtside alongside former Pacers star Lance Stephenson to watch Haliburton drop 21 points in a 123-115 victory.
On the Club 520 podcast co-hosted by former Pacers guard Jeff Teague, Rob49 described the evening as a memorable one. Soaking in the playoff energy in the basketball-crazed state of Indiana, he was surprised by how many fans knew him and remembers at one point fans collectively yelling “What the helly?”
“I was like ‘what the hell,’” he said on the podcast with a laugh. “That was crazy to me.”
The special guest activities also included meeting Haliburton in person for the first time and being gifted personalized merchandise from the team.
“I knew it was going to go, but I didn’t know it was going to go this far though,” Rob49 said of his song’s takeoff. “This is about to be crazy.”
Rob49, who started rapping in 2020, first gained wide attention for his verse on Travis Scott’s 2023 hit song “Topia Twins.” Since his TikTok banger dropped at the end of March, he has gained more notoriety and soon plans to release a remix with number of stars including Justin Bieber set to be featured. He isn’t done with the basketball references anytime soon either as he gave fans a snippet of his unreleased song “Angel Reese“ last week during his live stream.
The Pacers don’t host celebrities as often as the Los Angeles Lakers or the New York Knicks but aim to capitalize when they can expand their national brand. Popular rapper turned businessman Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson makes a couple appearances each season, as the Pacers have a partnership with his liquor and wine company Sire Spirits. Actor Will Farrell, who starred as Jackie Moon in 2008 basketball comedy Semi-Pro, also famously attended a game in a hype man role in 2023.
They have also been quick to implement the star power of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, who share their arena and whose players regularly attend their games—and vice versa. Fever phenom Caitlin Clark has become a friend of Haliburton’s since she was drafted No. 1 overall in 2024. Both Indiana basketball teams are owned by parent company Pacers Sports & Entertainment.
As the ongoing NBA playoffs progress, the Pacers remain in talks with Rob49 about a potential halftime show or another appearance at the arena depending on how long their run lasts. Regardless, the viral song will be remembered as the backdrop of a season that has solidified Indiana’s return to NBA contention.
