Tyrese Haliburton Trolls Alleged 49ers Impostor With Custom Jersey
· Yahoo Sports
Tyrese Haliburton held up a San Francisco 49ers jersey with Love's name across the back on his stream, a night after the 49ers opened the season with a 27-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"He didn't play last night, he on IR," Haliburton said.
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No NFL team has ever employed Daejon Labrayae Love. Federal agents arrested him Aug. 24 in Boise, Idaho, along with 18-year-old Taylor Jamie Chan. Both are charged in Portland, Oregon, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
Since February 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, the two took about $1.3 million from more than two dozen women in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California. Love, 35, met most of them on dating apps. He told them he played wide receiver for the 49ers. Other times he was a wealthy real estate investor. Chan played the financial adviser. The charges are accusations, and neither man has been convicted.
The Indiana Pacers guard has been on the story for close to two weeks. He posted about Love's videos on X on Sept. 1.
"Daejon Love's digital footprint insane, I ain't seen the same video twice," Haliburton explained.
Tyrese Haliburton Nears Return After 14-Month Absence
Haliburton has not played a game in 14 months. He tore his right Achilles tendon on a non-contact drive in the first quarter of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 22, 2025, with Indiana and Oklahoma City tied 16-16, and had surgery the next day. Pacers president Kevin Pritchard ruled him out for the season on July 7, 2025. Indiana finished 19-63.
Rehabilitation ran into a second problem in the winter, when Haliburton was diagnosed with facial shingles on Feb. 22. He was doing full-court 4-on-4 against team interns and reserves by late January. Chris Haynes reported in July that Indiana expected to have him for Day 1. Haliburton said Aug. 12 that his rehabilitation was finished and that he needed no more time.
"If the season was today, I'd be ready," Haliburton said.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has had him in five-on-five work for months.
"It's going to be a bit of a journey for him," Carlisle said after Indiana's Summer League win over Cleveland.
ESPN's Jamal Collier wrote that Indiana may take it slow with Haliburton at the start of the season. NBA 2K27 rates him a 90 overall, down from the 93 he carried in NBA 2K26.
Haliburton Has Longstanding Connection to 49ers
Haliburton and Brock Purdy were at Iowa State at the same time, Haliburton running the basketball program and Purdy the football program. Before Super Bowl LVIII, Haliburton said he was pulling for Purdy and San Francisco.
Purdy threw three touchdown passes in Melbourne and was not sacked on 34 attempts. Mike Evans caught a two-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter, his first with San Francisco. Renardo Green intercepted Matthew Stafford in the second quarter at the San Francisco 14-yard line. It was the first regular-season NFL game played in Australia and the fourth season opener between the two teams.
Haliburton is not the only one working the Love material. Rookie wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling switched his number from 15 to 7, the number Love wore in his workout videos. San Francisco wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson posted an AI-generated photo of himself coaching Love at a 49ers practice. The Cleveland Guardians put Love in a lineup graphic on X on Aug. 29.
Pacers Prepare for Haliburton's Return
Indiana's roster looks different from the one Haliburton left. Myles Turner signed with Milwaukee and Bennedict Mathurin left for New Orleans. Ivica Zubac is at center now, and Kelly Oubre Jr. was added on the wing.
Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 9.2 assists in 73 games in 2024-25, his last full season. He added 1.4 steals a game, shot 47.3% from the floor and 38.8% from 3-point range, and made the All-NBA Third Team. He signed a five-year, $244 million extension in July 2023 and will make $48,924,624 this season.
Pacers training camp opens Sept. 29. Indiana opens the regular season Oct. 21 at New Orleans, hosts Dallas on Oct. 23, and meets the champion New York Knicks on Nov. 13 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in NBA Cup play.