Tyrese Haliburton joins NBA stars with torn Achilles tendon in play-offs
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Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton after suffering an injury during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK – Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has suffered a torn right Achilles tendon, the team confirmed on June 23 and was set to undergo surgery after becoming the latest star stricken by a severe injury in the National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs.
The 25-year-old point guard went down on June 22 in a Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals and is at risk of missing the entire 2025-26 campaign. The Pacers said that Haliburton would have surgery on the tendon in New York.
The injury is similar to one which cost NBA star Kevin Durant a full season after being hurt in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Haliburton joined a grim roll call of players who have suffered ruptured Achilles tendons in this season’s play-offs, that includes the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard. All three players are uncertain for next season.
Haliburton played despite a calf strain in the Finals in hopes of bringing the Pacers their first NBA title, but Oklahoma City won Game 7 103-91 for their first title.
Durant similarly played for the Golden State Warriors on a calf strain before going down with a torn Achilles tendon six years ago in the Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
“Damn man... smh (shaking my head) too familiar,” Golden State’s Draymond Green posted on social media after Haliburton went down.
The Pacers star fell to the court without being touched as he tried to drive to the basket just over seven minutes into the first quarter.
“What happened with Tyrese, all of our hearts dropped,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after the game.
“But he will be back. I don’t have any medical information about what may or may not have happened, but he’ll be back in time, and I believe he’ll make a full recovery.”
With three stars possibly lost for next season due to torn tendons in the play-offs and the title game potentially turning on a major injury, the topic of reducing the 82-game regular season is set for the spotlight once again.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the issue earlier in June after Tatum and Golden State’s Stephen Curry suffered major play-off injuries.
Silver said the NBA provides more play-off rest days than in previous seasons, adding that there is “no data” to suggest fewer regular-season games would produce fewer injuries.
“I’m not sure it’s a function of the regular season,” he said.
“There’s a certain cadence to the play-offs. If anything, there’s more space in the play-off games than when you and I grew up in the NBA. We used to frequently play play-off games back-to-back on the weekends.
“Having said that, we, of course, look at it very closely.”
Silver said the NBA competition committee will next meet in July in Las Vegas.
Denver Nuggets star Aaron Gordon spoke up about what some players call “fatigue-based injuries” in the play-offs after the load of a full season.
“Part of what we do is look at every form of data that we can get our hands on. That includes minutes played, injuries and whatever impact we see that back-to-backs are having on players – not just measured by injuries, but also measured by production on the floor,” Silver said.
“We’re going to continue to look at it. I don’t think there are any magic bullets here. In fact, injuries are considered down this play-offs from what has been historically.” AFP