Tyrese Haliburton’s Arkansas troll hits former Wildcats perfectly

Indiana Pacers NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton wanted to troll his fellow NBA players, but then he remembered they had all already jumped onto the Arkansas bandwagon long before their Kentucky Wildcats' early March Madness loss.

Haliburton's alma mater, No. 2 seeded Iowa State, on Sunday handled the No. 7 Wildcats 82-63 to end their season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Haliburton went to talk some trash to all the former Wildcats throughout the NBA, but many are now Razorbacks fans after John Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas in 2024, so Haliburton made sure to get in two jokes as the Wildcats were down.

Tyrese Haliburton jokes at former Kentucky players after Iowa State's NCAA Tournament win

"Went to text the guys who played at Kentucky about this game and forgot they think they Arkansas alum now," Haliburton posted after the game.

The Arkansas brand has recently taken the NBA by storm because of Calipari's impact on so much of the league, including reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and obviously the rest of the league has taken notice.

SGA and his Oklahoma City Thunder teammates were recently asked in a video who they predicted to win the NCAA Tournament. Obviously former Razorbacks Jaylin Williams and Isaiah Joe were rooting for their old programs, but they're weren't the only Hogs fans in the locker room. SGA at least mentioned both Kentucky and Arkansas as picks, but Cason Wallace, also a former Wildcat, was all in on the Razorbacks winning it all despite his Wildcats also being part of March Madness. Wallace mentioned Calipari as the reason.

Turns out that was the best pick the former Wildcats could make considering Kentucky is headed home, while the No. 4 seed Razorbacks are off to the Sweet 16 after beating No. 12 High Point 94-88 in the second round.

Even before March Madness was the talk of the basketball world, it was evident NBA players had jumped on the Arkansas bandwagon because of Calipari. Devin Booker played for Calipari at Kentucky before becoming a five-time NBA All-Star for the Phoenix Suns. Booker recently debuted a new signature shoe, and it wasn't blue, but instead had the Razorback logo.

Then, the next night, 16-time All-Star Kevin Durant, who played at Texas, also repped the Arkansas logo on his kicks during his game with the Houston Rockets.

Between his former players repping him over their school and the Wildcats getting bounced early while the Razorbacks are still dancing, it's evident Calipari was the backbone of Kentucky's storied success. And all this only helps the Razorbacks, especially in recruiting. If other NBA players are noticing it, then recruits will also realize it's not the Kentucky logo that gets players to the NBA, but Calipari.