Pacers star addresses progress on devastating Achilles injury

Tyrese Haliburton is recovering from a ruptured Achilles he suffered in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 season but plans to remain involved with the team.
The Pacers star has not rewatched any postseason games, calling the experience ‘tough.’

Tyrese Haliburton is trying to look forward.

For the first time since his devastating Achilles rupture in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Haliburton addressed reporters and updated the progress on his injury. Haliburton described the summer as a ‘drag,’ but said he’s on track with his recovery.

‘Just taking it day-by day,’ Haliburton told reporters Monday, Sept. 29 at the Pacers’ media day session. ‘It’s a monotonous thing of just feeling like you’re doing the same thing every time.’

Haliburton, 25, has been Indiana’s best player, and he was the catalyst who led the team to its first NBA Finals appearance in 25 seasons. He suffered the Achilles tear early in Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, after he started the game hot with 9 points on 3-of-5 shooting.

Haliburton, since suffering the injury, has not rewatched a single game from the postseason.

‘It’s been tough, it’s been tough,’ he said. ‘I think as time has went on, I’ve been able to go around the city more and move around, there’s been a lot of people come up to me and showing love for what we did this past year. You can just feel the love and the excitement in our city. …

‘What we did was very special, and it’s something that I’ll cherish for a long time, but I don’t think that I’m prepared quite yet to go back and watch games because it has been hard for me.’

Haliburton averaged 17.3 points, 8.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per contest in the postseason, and laced several shots to tie or win games.

The Pacers finished the 2024-25 season 50-32, which placed them fourth in the Eastern Conference, though they were one of the hottest teams in the league after the start of 2025.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said earlier on Monday that Indiana would have ‘some adjustments’ with Haliburton sidelined, though he stressed that he wanted the Pacers to maintain their identity.

Haliburton expects to be heavily involved.

‘Well I think whenever you don’t get to play, you get a new perspective on things,’ Haliburton said. ‘There’s always time to learn and grow, and I think that this year, I’m going to be able to see the game in a different way – potentially see it more from a coaching perspective, where I don’t always see eye-to-eye with the coaching staff and what they’re seeing.

‘I look forward to being able to digest the game without playing for a full year. That’s going to be different for me.’

As he walked up to the podium, he referred to his injured foot and even kicked it up on the table, before saying that was his ‘good foot.’ Later, when asked how he could help out in practices, Haliburton said: ‘I can’t really rebound, but I can pass.’

Haliburton maintained that he would still be a presence in the Pacers locker room and would still use his voice to help the team. He added that he wants to ‘try to be the bridge’ between the players and the coaching staff, since he’ll be watching games from the bench.

He said he’ll try to travel to as many games as possible, but will need to stay in Indianapolis at times for practical reasons, as he continues to rehab the injury.

‘The standard is the standard,’ Haliburton said. ‘We’ve created a culture here, and that’s not changing. Playing fast, picking up full-court , playing with infectious joy – that doesn’t change. I’m definitely excited to see everyone grow.”