INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton has no regrets about trying to lead the Indiana Pacers to the franchise’s first NBA title, even though his decision to play hurt ended in agony when he tore his right Achilles tendon early in Game 7.
Monday’s announcement of the injury — confirmed by Haliburton in a social media post — casts a pall on Haliburton’s historic postseason run, which included a litany of incredible plays, buzzer-beating winners and occasionally unprecedented stat lines.
“Honestly, right now, torn Achilles and all, I don’t regret it,” Haliburton, who played Games 6 and 7 of the finals with a strained calf, said on social media. “I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers. For the chance to do something special.”
It was just the second finals appearance for the Pacers, and it came as a surprise given that Indiana began the season with a 10-15 record. Getting back there might take some time now that the two-time All Star point guard could miss all of next season.
Haliburton’s surgery to repair the tendon was performed Monday by Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, the Pacers said.
Coach Rick Carlisle believes that when Haliburton heals he will be every bit as good — whenever that may be.
“He will be back,” Carlisle said following Sunday night’s 103-91 loss at Oklahoma City. “I don’t have any medical information about what’s what, what may or may not have happened. But he’ll be back in time, and I believe he’ll make a full recovery.”
The Pacers wouldn’t have made it so far without Haliburton helping to orchestrate three incredible playoff rallies from seven points down in the final 50 seconds of regulation.
But after scoring nine points, all on 3-pointers, in the first seven minutes of the biggest game in franchise history, Haliburton crashed to the floor and that was it.
The Pacers lost their leader and fell short in their title chase — again.
“We just kept battling because we wanted to make Indiana proud, make our fans proud,” three-time All-Star Pascal Siakam said. “We tried our best, but we’ve got to be strong. It’s hard to look forward into the future after you lose like this.”
But everyone else is, and the questions about Haliburton’s playing status could make this offseason murkier than expected for Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard.
There are silver linings, though.
At age 25, Haliburton is young enough to return to his pre-injury form and today’s medical advances could help shorten the expected timetable of about 12 months.
“I will do everything in my power to get back right,” Haliburton said.
Many players, including some much older than Haliburton, have shown it is possible to make a full comeback from torn Achilles tendons, and Siakam has no doubt Haliburton will join the club.
“I know there’s more coming, it’s just a tough a situation,” Siakam said. “I think back a couple of years and basketball was just not fun, you know, and I got traded here and these guys, they just gave me a boost and playing with these guys is so incredible. I found joy with so much swagger and happiness.”
That’s unlikely to change regardless of Haliburton’s health because his effusive personality even in the face of adversity will continue to be a key feature for Indiana. Players such as Siakam won’t allow that to change.
The Pacers also will begin next season with a strong roster and room to grow defensively.
Indiana’s deep rotation routinely wore down playoff opponents with its quick tempo, a model it could replicate next season, as it has done each of the previous two even when Haliburton didn’t play.
Nine of Indiana’s top 10 players are under contract for 2025-26, with starting center Myles Turner the lone exception. Indiana’s longest-tenured player has a cap hold estimated at slightly less than $30 million, meaning if he re-signs for something close, Indiana would be barely moving into the first apron and could stay out of that spending threshold with another move.
The Pacers also have strong guards in Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell, who can run the show, as well as emerging defender Ben Sheppard.
Aaron Nesmith and Bennedict Mathurin also demonstrated their scoring prowess in the postseason. Both showed they can defend guards and forwards, giving Indiana perhaps the toughness and flexibility to contend in Haliburton’s absence.
Without Haliburton, Mathurin and Sheppard can expect to play more minutes, as could forward Jarace Walker, a lottery pick in 2023.
For now, though, it remains hard to fathom — chasing a title with Haliburton possibly out for most, if not all, of next season.
“A lot of us were hurting from the loss and he was up there consoling us. That’s who Tyrese Haliburton is,” McConnell said. “He’s just the greatest.”
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