Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton issues own medical update after clearing COVID-19 protocols

Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton issued his own medical update Friday when he took to social media to announce he had cleared NBA health and safety protocols. Haliburton made the announcement on Twitter, citing unnamed sources.

“Tyrese Haliburton has cleared health and safety protocols, sources tell me,” Haliburton tweeted.

A team source confirmed Haliburton had, indeed, cleared the league’s protocol system after missing the past two games. Haliburton was with the team Friday as the Kings (18-29) set out on a five-game road trip, but his status for Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks (28-19) was unknown, the source said.

Haliburton grew up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, about 90 miles north of Milwaukee. He has 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting with five rebounds and eight assists when the Kings visited the Bucks last season.

Haliburton was cleared just five days after entering health and safety protocols prior to Sunday’s game against the Houston Rockets. He was the 12th Kings player to enter the league’s protocol system since mid-December as the team experienced its first major COVID-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic.

Haliburton, who came out of Iowa State as the No. 12 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, was a finalist for Rookie of the Year after averaging 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists last season. He is averaging 13.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists this season. Haliburton has missed four games this season. The Kings are 0-4 with him out of the lineup.