CNN
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Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season to rehabilitate his torn Achilles tendon, the team confirmed on Monday.
Haliburton suffered the injury in the first quarter of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, a game Indiana would go on to lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder and miss out on winning the franchise’s first ever NBA title.
Haliburton posted on social media the day after that he had undergone successful surgery on the torn Achilles tendon in his right leg, vowing that he “will do everything in my power to get back right.”
On Monday, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard ruled out any participation by Haliburton in the upcoming season, adding that he has full confidence that the two-time All-Star would return even stronger.
“I have no doubt that he will be back better than ever. The surgery went well,” Pritchard told the media. “It was a little higher and he gets more blood to that (as he recovers). He will not play next year though. We would not jeopardize that now, so don’t get any hopes up that he will play.”
Haliburton had arguably been the star of the NBA playoffs up until that point, providing magical moments as the Pacers made their way to the Finals.
He produced one of the signature moments of the playoffs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals as he led the Pacers on a massive comeback in the final minutes against the New York Knicks, eventually hitting a tying shot as the buzzer sounded to send the game to overtime – and mimicked Reggie Miller’s famous “choke” celebration on the Madison Square Garden floor. Indiana eventually won that game in overtime.
In the Finals, he recreated those heroics by helping to engineer a comeback win over the Thunder on the road in Game 1. He hit a mid-range jumper with 0.3 seconds to go in the game to give Indiana its only lead, stealing the series opener on the road.
After being named the most overrated player in the league by his peers earlier in the season, Haliburton seemed to be on a mission to prove all the doubters wrong in the playoffs. He also hit game-winning shots to beat the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in the earlier rounds.
However, the 25-year-old suffered a strained right calf midway through the Finals which clearly hampered his success on the court. He continued to play through the injury until his eventual Achilles tear forced him off the court early in Game 7.
Haliburton himself expressed no regrets about playing through the injury, but Pritchard had a different opinion.
“If you’re asking me, would I have him do it over and over? I would not. I would not,” Pritchard said. “If I knew that he was going to get hurt, I would sacrifice that game because I care for the kid so much and want him to have an incredible career.”
In 73 regular season games last campaign, Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game.
With Haliburton absent, next season looks to be a transition year for the Pacers.
The team has already lost one of its stalwarts in Myles Turner who, having spent the first 10 years of his NBA career in Indiana, signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in the first few days of free agency.
The 29-year-old center departs the Pacers as the franchise’s all-time leader in blocks and leaves a sizable gap in the team’s rotation.
Pritchard told reporters that it was a surprise to lose Turner in free agency, calling him “one of the best players that’s ever played here.”
“I know this, that (owner) Herb Simon and (part-owner) Steven Rales and the Simon family were fully prepared to go deep into the tax to keep him,” Pritchard said. “We really wanted to do that, and we were negotiating in good faith.
“But what happens in this league is sometimes you’re negotiating, but because a guy is unrestricted, he has the right to say: ‘That’s the offer I want. I’m going to take it and that’s best for my family.’”
