Tyrese Haliburton on David Benner: 'If I can be half the person he was to this organization, I feel like I've left a good impact here'

The Pacers star guard spoke about the late David Benner on Wednesday

On Wednesday, a memorial service was held to celebrate the life of former Indiana Pacers media relations director David Benner. He passed away last week.

Benner worked for the organization for nearly three decades and had a massive impact on the franchise. Many of the faces of the Pacers over the years, including Rick Carlisle, Mark Boyle, Reggie Miller, and Donnie Walsh, remembered the life and legacy of Benner at the service, which was held inside of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It can be viewed in full here.

Later that day, the Pacers held a practice, and a few players spoke to the media afterwards. One of them was All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who wanted to share his thoughts on Benner. He had a lot to share.

"I didn't get a chance to speak on David Benner after he passed because I was hurt. I was only here for two months when I got traded here [last year] and he was just such a good dude to me. Right away, from the moment I got here, it was obvious that he was kind of the guy around here. Nobody ever said anything to me, but our conversations were always amazing. [I] loved being around him," Haliburton said. "And then even to start this year, after games and things like that, he'd still be around. So when I got to see him in the back, that was always awesome just to share a couple words. We didn't obviously have the most personal relationship because we weren't here together for long, but he just radiated energy. Such a good dude. And I just wanted to make sure that I'm able to say that because I was hurt when he passed so I didn't get to share my thoughts on him. People should just know how awesome of a person he was, and that's just from me being around him for two months. All these other people have been around him for years. We definitely lost a legend."

Haliburton was only a member of the blue and gold for a few months before Benner retired, as he alluded to. Benner attended multiple Pacers games this season when he was able.

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During the memorial service, both Reggie Miller and Benner's brother, Bill, referenced  Haliburton in some way. First up was Miller, who was discussing if he truly hated the New York Knicks.

"Here in Indiana, we do not like the New York Knicks. Or Wally Szczerbiak... I had your back on that. I went after him," Miller said, alluding to Szczerbiak calling Haliburton a wannabe All-Star earlier this season.

Later, Bill Benner was speaking about his brother and naming some of the many people that he had an impact on. "Jalen Rose, Myles Turner, and this last and latest group, including my man Tyrese," he said, glancing at Haliburton.

Those moments meant a lot to the Pacers young guard. "I definitely did not expect to hear my name brought up today at the memorial. It definitely meant the world," he said. "I think that he'll always be such an integral part of his organization moving forward when we're all gone. I'm hoping to leave the same impact on this organization," Haliburton added.

"If I can be half the person he was to this organization, I feel like I've left a good impact here," he concluded. After the career and life that David Benner had, that will be tough to do, and Halibuton knows that.

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