INDIANAPOLIS — In the Circle City, two hands on your throat is less of a sign you’re choking and more of a sign that the other team is.
Pacers legend Reggie Miller hit the now-iconic celebration against the New York Knicks in the 1994 NBA Playoffs. Just weeks ago, Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton resurrected the celebration after hitting a game-tying shot against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
”We are the basketball state and you have to be a Pacers fan, it’s crazy if you’re not,” said Kiarra Baxter, a local tattoo artist.
To celebrate the Pacers’ first trip to the NBA Finals in 25 years, Baxter offered up a free Tyrese Haliburton tattoo on Facebook.
“I just went with the first person to reach out and she was very persistent,” Baxter said. “She wanted it done.”
The lucky winner of the free tattoo was Ksha Tyus. She’s an Indianapolis native and has always watched the Pacers. She started going to games with her dad when she was young.
”I’m just a bold person,” Tyus said. “I like ink, I like the Pacers and my dad, of course, so I was just like, ‘You can do it on me,’ and then we did it the next day.”
After eight hours of hard work, a viral sensation was born. The tattoo of Tyrese Haliburton doing Reggie Miller’s signature choke celebration with the words “What the Haliburton.” The phrase has been very popular since the release of rapper Rob49’s song “WTHELLY.”
”It’s also a little bit overwhelming, but it’s fun,” Baxter said. “It’s been awesome. Every time I wake up, I see a different website posting it.”
A picture of the tattoo on Tyus’s calf has been shared by ESPN, TMZ, Yahoo Sports and more.
Tyus said she was just in a music video, and Buffalo Wild Wings has reached out to her about being in a commercial, and even offered her free wings for a year.
For Baxter, she’s glad her work is being shown off across the internet.
”I’m in love with the color realism style and I love doing portraits,” she said. “I’ve been practicing color realism portraits for a year or so now, so I saw the perfect opportunity to do something really cool and I just took it.”
Tyus is a big fan, too.
”Overly happy,” she said. “100 out of 10. I love it.”
The only question now is if Tyrese Haliburton has seen the tattoo for himself. Neither knows for sure.
”Maybe,” Tyus said. “But he’s in the Finals, so he’s probably not worried about a tattoo.”