The Indiana Pacers confirmed Monday that star point guard Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 season after surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon.
“I have no doubt that he will be back better than ever,” Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said Monday. “The surgery went well. 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 was injured in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last month, with the Oklahoma City Thunder going on to win the game and their first title in franchise history. Without Haliburton, the Pacers were outscored 56-43 in the second half as Oklahoma City finished off a 103-91 victory.
The two-time All-Star scored nine points with three 3-pointers before leaving the floor. He averaged 14 points, 5.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds during the NBA Finals.
Haliburton suffered a calf strain in Game 5 and, despite being listed as a game-time decision, played on it in Game 6 and then tore his Achilles in Game 7.
Haliburton posted to social media last month that he didn’t regret playing through the injury and he would “do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers.”
Pritchard told reporters Monday that Haliburton’s mentality “just shows you what kind of kid he is.”
“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.”
Haliburton, 25, averaged 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 73 games (all starts) during the regular season and was selected to the All-NBA third team. He has career averages of 17.5 points, 8.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 333 games (294 starts) for the Sacramento Kings (2020-22) and Pacers.
Field Level Media and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
