Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton has improved in several areas this season. His ability to balance scoring and passing has grown. When the Pacers need him to be aggressive and get a bucket, he can do it. His off-court leadership is refined. In essentially every way, he’s a better player.

That’s why several Sportsbooks give Haliburton the second-highest odds to be awarded the George Mikan Trophy — formerly known as the Most Improved Player award — this season. He has grown significantly as a player and person.

Haliburton works hard on his game, and it shows. But an additional part of Haliburton’s improvement coincides with his focus on nutrition. During his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings, Haliburton was impressed with how Kings forward Harrison Barnes took care of his body. The young guard wanted to follow suit.

That led him to Cheribundi, a sports nutrition company that creates natural performance wellness products. They were founded to improve daily life and health, and their products include many types of juice and concentrate products that aid with recovery, sleep, nutrition, and more aspects of physical well-being.

Haliburton has been using Cheribundi products for a while now, which helps him in many aspects of life and basketball. “I try to drink two or three a day. Usually it’s just the pure Cheribundi 100% cherry juice in the morning as kind of a wake up,” Haliburton told Forbes. He drinks Cheribundi products on game days, and he downs one before he goes to bed — it helps him sleep better.

The Pacers guard was using Cheribundi products for recovery purposes already when he had an opportunity to become an investor. It happened naturally. He, along with Lindsey Horan of Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers, and Michaela Onyenwere of the New York Liberty, was one of the first athlete investors in the company.

 “Recovery, first and foremost — taking care of my body the right way. But also, it’s just a product that I trust in,” Haliburton explained of why Cheribundi products are right for him.

A focus on nutrition has helped the 22-year old stay on the court and recover from injuries quicker. Haliburton missed just five games during his second season in the NBA, and one of those was due to a processing trade. The other four came in separate two-game bursts.

So far in 2022-23, Haliburton has missed just two games, and they were on a back-to-back. His health has been much better in the last two seasons.

“For me, it’s been good for recovery. I feel like I’m recovering faster than I was my rookie year,” Haliburton said of his health and Cheribundi products. “I just feel like I’ve been healthier the last two years in comparison to my rookie year,” he added. The guard noted that a lot goes into that, including his focus on nutrition. He missed 14 games during his rookie season due to various injuries.

Haliburton has played at an All-Star level this season. He’s averaging 19.8 points and 10.6 assists per game, and his assists number is first in the league. Because he has been healthy and has played in so many games, he leads the NBA in total assists and total passes completed this season through December 16.

If he keeps up that form, he will be in the mix for hardware this season — perhaps an All-Star appearance, and maybe an All-NBA nod or Most Improved player award could be in his future. He will certainly be in the conversation.

That type of player has influence, and Haliburton’s use of Cheribundi drinks is starting to rub off on his Pacer teammates. “I always tell them, ‘A Cheribundi a day keeps the pain away’,” Haliburton said of his fellow Pacers. He said that other players on Indiana tell him when they drink Cheribundi juices themselves.

Haliburton is a perfectionist in every way, so it isn’t surprising that he found the best method to perfect his body off the court. It worked out well that he was able to become an investor for the company that helped him improve his nutrition and physical health. Tyrese Haliburton is meticulous in his growth strategy as a basketball player on and off the court, and using Cheribundi products is another way that the young guard helps himself become the best version of himself.

Read full article by Tony East on Forbes.