Tyrese Haliburton's SLAM Cover With WWE's Trick Williams Revealed in Photo Ahead of 2026 NBA Season

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and WWE Superstar Trick Williams were revealed Friday as the cover athletes for the latest issue of SLAM magazine.

The cover features Haliburton and Williams standing side by side along with the headline, "Showstoppers: Built for the Spotlight."

Haliburton and Williams were also part of a feature story in the magazine written by Kazeem Famuyide , and Haliburton's WWE fandom is covered extensively in it.

A two-time NBA All-Star, Haliburton is set to return to the court this coming season after missing the entire 2025-26 campaign while recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.

The 26-year-old guard was a force for the Pacers during that 2025 playoff run, averaging 17.3 points, 8.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game, and making clutch shot after clutch shot.

While Haliburton was on the shelf, it became somewhat commonplace to see him pop up at major WWE events.

Haliburton even had some involvement at Saturday Night's Main Event in July, which took place at the New York Knicks' home of Madison Square Garden.

He has become the biggest modern-day villain at MSG thanks to the Pacers knocking the Knicks out of the playoffs in both 2024 and 2025, and he played a heel role at SNME by trying to interrupt a segment involving Roman Reigns and Knicks star Jalen Brunson.

As for Williams' he is one of WWE's fastest-rising stars. A two-time and reigning United States champion, all signs point toward Trick becoming world champion in the not-too-distant future.

Williams also has a history of athletic success outside of pro wrestling, as he played college football at the University of South Carolina as a wide receiver and later participated in a rookie minicamp with the Philadelphia Eagles.

There are many parallels between Haliburton and Williams in terms of athleticism and charisma, which made them a natural fit to grace the cover of SLAM magazine together.