Pacers Make Major Tyrese Haliburton Announcement on Monday
It was already expected, but Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard announced news on Monday that his fans were hoping they wouldn't hear.
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Pritchard confirmed that star point guard Tyrese Haliburton would miss the entire 2025-26 season after tearing his Achilles in a 103-91 loss of the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last month.
Haliburton is the latest in a long line of NBA stars to suffer Achilles tears this season — a list that also includes Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, former Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard, New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray, Pacers center James Wiseman, and Miami Heat guard Dru Smith.
Tatum and Lillard both suffered their injuries in the postseason as well.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0).Ken Blaze
'I have no doubt that he will be back better than ever,' Pritchard said. 'The surgery went well. It was a little higher, he gets a little bit more to that. He will not play next year, though. We would not jeopardize that now.
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'Don't get any hopes up that he will play, but again, we'll have some guys and hopefully they'll have some opportunities to grow, and when he gets back, that'll be the cherry on top.'
Haliburton had surgery on his Achilles on June 23. Before his injury, Haliburton was one of Indiana's key catalysts in its NBA Finals run.
The 25-year-old guard averaged 17.3 points, 8.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game in 23 postseason contests.
He averaged 21 points and 10.5 assists per game in the Pacers' Eastern Conference final win over the New York Knicks, and 17.4 points and 7.0 assists per game in the conference semifinal win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Haliburton's absence won't be the only one affecting the Pacers next season. Center Myles Turner signed a lucrative four-year, $107 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks at the start of free agency.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
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