Tyrese Haliburton

September 9, 2026

Could be limited to begin 2026-27 season

The Pacers may opt to slowly bring Haliburton back up to speed as he aims to return from a torn Achilles suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Jamal Collier of ESPN reports.

Analysis

Haliburton torched the nets in the opening quarter of Indiana's Game 7 loss to the Thunder in the Finals, though he tore his Achilles before the end of the frame. The star floor general resumed 5-on-5 work in early April and said in late June that he felt like he was operating like a "healthy NBA player," per Scott Agness of FieldhouseFiles.com. Although he's had plenty of time to recover since undergoing Achilles surgery, Haliburton may still need time to ramp up to a full workload after such a serious injury. The 26-year-old will look to return to form after averaging 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks while shooting 38.8 percent from three-point range in 33.6 minutes per tilt across 73 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.