Latest news with #Haliburton
Yahoo
5 days ago
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Thunder, Pacers Roar to 6-Year NBA Finals High With 16.4M Viewers
As expected, ABC enjoyed a big boost in its deliveries for the seventh game of the NBA Finals, as Sunday night's broadcast of the Thunder's 103-91 win over the Pacers averaged 16.4 million viewers—the biggest turnout for a title tilt since 2019. While the Nielsen data is preliminary—a final readout on the audience numbers will be available Tuesday—the official TV turnout isn't likely to be significantly larger than the figures released Monday afternoon. ABC's deliveries peaked with 19.3 million viewers in the 9:45 p.m. ET quarter-hour. All told, the Oklahoma City-Indiana series averaged 10.3 million viewers over the course of the seven nights, which marked a 9% decline compared to the year-ago Celtics-Mavericks set. That five-game series averaged 11.3 million viewers. The Thunder-Pacers showdown now stands as the fifth least-watched Finals in the modern Nielsen era (1988-present). Excluding the pandemic-disrupted 2020 'bubble' series (7.45 million viewers per game) and the delayed 2021 follow-up (9.91 million), which closed out on July 20 of that same year, the only two Finals that this year's event managed to top were the 2003 and 2007 editions. San Antonio's sweep of the latter series kept the average down to just 9.29 million viewers per game, while their 4-2 victory over the Nets in 2003 managed 9.86 million. Game 7 was the first of this year's Finals to serve up more than 10 million viewers, as ABC throughout the series was hampered by the small-town matchups. Together, the Indianapolis and OKC markets are home to a combined 1.99 million TV households, accounting for just 1.6% of the national base. Sunday night's game was marred by an injury sustained by the Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton, who early in the first quarter went down with what would prove to be a torn Achilles tendon. In what amounts to a truly miserable coincidence, Haliburton was the third NBA player in the postseason to succumb to a wrecked Achilles while wearing the number 0. Bucks guard Damian Lillard sustained his injury in a first-round loss to Indiana, while Boston's Jayson Tatum ruptured the same tendon in a second-round defeat at Madison Square Garden. All three stars are expected to miss the entire 2025-26 NBA campaign as they recover from their injuries. If this year's results are a far cry from previous Game 7s—nine years ago, Cleveland's 93-89 victory over Golden State averaged a staggering 31 million viewers, giving the NBA its biggest national TV audience since Michael Jordan's last hurrah in 1998—Disney still managed to secure the bag over the course of these Finals. Before any necessary make-good considerations were factored into the calculus, ABC's in-game advertising revenue is believed to have added up to some $300 million. Thanks to the Game 7 boost, the NBA will enjoy bragging rights to a spot among the year's top TV broadcasts for the first time since 2019. The closest the league has come to cracking the century club in recent years was in 2022, when Game 6 of the Warriors-Celtics tilt averaged 14 million viewers, or just eight spots shy of the cutoff. Over the course of the 34 NBA postseason games that aired across ESPN and ABC between April 19 and June 22, the Disney networks averaged 6.12 million viewers per outing, good for a 10% improvement compared to 2024. More from Advertisement Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Yahoo
5 days ago
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When NBA Stars Fall, Teams Get Help Paying Their Mega-Salaries
Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard confirmed this week that star point guard Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 season after he tore his Achilles tendon during the NBA Finals. It's a devastating on-court blow for the Eastern Conference champs, who must also adjust to the departure of free agent center Myles Turner. One consolation: Insurance will cover up to $18.2 million of Haliburton's $45.6 million guaranteed salary for 2025-26. Advertisement More from The NBA oversees a temporary total disability (TTD) insurance program for the benefit of individual teams. Each club insures a minimum of four of its highest-paid players, as defined by either the current season salary or total remaining salary. Teams have the option to insure additional players. The policy pays out after players miss 41 consecutive regular-season games, which can span two seasons. The benefit is either 50% or 80% of the player's salary, depending on the 'tier' of coverage selected by the team—the higher tier requires a higher annual premium. Last season, the max payout was roughly $492,000 per game. The $18.2 million potential benefit for the Pacers for Haliburton is based on the higher tier, which pays 80%. Teams are responsible for the balance of the salary. Prior versions of the NBA's TTD program covered five players on each club, and the maximum payout was $175,000 per game, and then raised to $275,000 per game as salaries climbed. Advertisement All-NBA star Jayson Tatum is also likely to be sidelined for most, if not all, of the season after he tore his Achilles tendon during the Boston Celtics' loss to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals—his $54.1 million salary for 2025-26 ranks tied for fourth in the NBA. The Celtics will collect just over $20 million based on maximum coverage. Other high-priced stars likely to miss a chunk of next season recovering from injuries include Kyrie Irving ($36.6 million salary) and Dejounte Murray ($26.8 million salary). Irving missed the Mavericks' last 20 games of the 2024-25 season after tearing his ACL, while Murray was sidelined for the New Orleans Pelicans' final 33 games after rupturing his Achilles in January. Damian Lillard, who suffered his own Achilles injury during the 2025 playoffs, was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks, who 'stretched' the remaining $112.6 million left on his contract over five years. It is unclear whether insurance will cover any of his deal. A representative for the Bucks declined to comment on the matter. The league has a separate program for injured players for salary cap purposes. The disabled player exception (DPE) allows a team to sign one replacement player after someone suffers a season-ending injury or illness. The salary is capped at the lesser of 50% of the injured player's salary or the non-tax mid-level exemption, which is $14.1 million for the 2025-26 season. They can also acquire a player in a trade under the same salary rules, plus $100,000. Advertisement Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
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Pacers Make Major Tyrese Haliburton Announcement on Monday
Pacers Make Major Tyrese Haliburton Announcement on Monday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. 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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement '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. Advertisement 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.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pacers' President Reveals Tyrese Haliburton Disagreement
Pacers' President Reveals Tyrese Haliburton Disagreement originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Indiana Pacers and their fans had their hearts ripped out in the opening minutes of Game 7 of the NBA Finals when superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton went down with a torn Achilles, ending his 2025-26 season before it could have even gotten started. Advertisement The Pacers were beating the Oklahoma City Thunder when Haliburton went down, and his injury immedialy became one of the biggest "what ifs" in league history. If he was healthy, could the Pacers have stolen their first NBA championship in franchise history? Time and time again, Haliburton has made it clear that he has no regrets. He was playing through a calf strain, which increased the risk of injury, but he insists that playing in Game 7 was the right thing to do. In hindsight, not everyone agrees with him. 'How do you tell a kid you can't play in Game 7 after you played in Game 6 and didn't [get hurt]?" asked team president Kevin Pritchard. "He's told me many times, and this just shows you what kind of kid he is, 'I would do it over and over.' And if you're asking me if I would have him do it over and over? I would not." Advertisement Of course, Pritchard is only saying that with the benefit of knowing what happened in Game 7. If the Pacers lost with a healthy Haliburton, there would be no question, and if they had managed to build a big enough lead before the injury and hold on to win, Pritchard might be singing a different tune. Check out the All Pacers homepage for more news, analysis, and must-read articles. Related: Bennedict Mathurin Sends Final Message to Former Pacer Myles Turner Related: Rick Carlisle Breaks Silence on Indiana Pacers Losing Myles Turner This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
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Desmond Bane shares Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton injury update after text exchange
The post Desmond Bane shares Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton injury update after text exchange appeared first on ClutchPoints. After Tyrese Haliburton suffered an Achilles injury in the NBA Finals that shattered the team's chances at the franchise's first championship, it was no doubt a saddening event for the basketball world. As Haliburton would assure Pacers fans that he will be ready to come back hungrier than ever, we also get a more recent update from Desmond Bane. Advertisement The new Orlando Magic star had been in the building for Game 7 when Haliburton suffered the injury in the first quarter of the contest. He would be on 'The Zach Lowe Show' and mentioned how he's been texting Haliburton about life and mentioned how the point guard was in 'decent spirits.' 'I was actually texting with him this morning, just more so about life than anything,' Bane said. 'And yeah it was hard to tell because when it's live it's hard to pickup on the small nuances of what's going on and things like that but you know once you saw him not getting up off the floor and the way the team and trainers and things like that were reacting you could tell it was something serious. I was just hoping for the best for him. You know, he seems like he's in decent spirits. I'm sure he's going to attack this rehab and get back and be better.' Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton proclaims he'll be back stronger Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images. As the Pacers look to bounce back after the NBA Finals loss, there's no doubt that Haliburton will be out for a good portion of next season due to the severity of a typical Achilles injury. Haliburton would take to social media and strongly proclaim that he will 'do everything in my power' to return better than ever. Advertisement 'I think Kobe [Bryant] said it best when in this same situation,' Haliburton continued. 'There are far greater issues/challenges in the world than a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.' And that's exactly right. I will do everything in my power to get back right.' It remains to be seen what a clear timetable looks like for Haliburton's recovery. Related: Pacers make contract decision on surprise playoff contributor Related: Indiana Pacers 2025 NBA Draft grades for every pick
