Tyrese Haliburton, meet Cason Wallace.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made the surprising decision to start Wallace in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. It's for one main reason: to guard Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers' superstar point guard.
Wallace, even on the small-market OKC team, is an especially unfamiliar name to casual NBA fans. But you'll know him now with his crucial role in the Finals.
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Here's what you need to know:
Who is Cason Wallace?
Cason Wallace is a 21-year old point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He stands 6-foot-3 and is originally from Dallas, Texas.
Cason Wallace college, draft pick
Cason Wallace played his college basketball at the University of Kentucky after being a five-star recruit.
He was one-and-done with the Wildcats.
Wallace was chosen with the 10th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Mavericks, but he was immediately traded to the Thunder for the 12th pick, Dereck Lively, in order to dump the salary of Davis Bertans.
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Cason Wallace stats
Cason Wallace started 43 games during the regular season for the Thunder.
He averaged 27.6 minutes per game, getting big point guard minutes even when he didn't start.
Wallace is capable of rising up for a dunk and shooting the 3.
Overall, he averaged 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Wallace also shot 35.6% from 3 (after shooting 41.9% from 3 as a rookie).
He's one of the stalwart defenders on the perimeter on a team full of them, and now he gets the NBA Finals stage to show it.