Tyrese Haliburton knew.
He knew the moment he planted his right leg to drive, slipped, hit the floor and lost the ball midway through the first quarter of a winner-take-all Game 7 that something was wrong — badly wrong.
[ALSO READ: Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton exits NBA Finals Game 7 with lower leg injury]
And on Tuesday (PH time), June 24, what many feared was confirmed.
Haliburton has been diagnosed with a torn right Achilles tendon, the team stated, a day after the conclusion of the 2025 NBA Finals where the Indiana Pacers lost to eventual champion OKC Thunder.
The Pacers also announced Haliburton is scheduled to undergo surgery later today. Despite not offering a specific recovery timeline, the injury is expected to sideline him for most, if not all, for the upcoming 2025–26 NBA season.
Tyrese Haliburton suffered an injury to his right Achilles tendon during last night's game at Oklahoma City.
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 23, 2025
An MRI taken today that confirmed he tore his right Achilles tendon and surgery is scheduled for later today.
More info: https://t.co/DD5ZCgPA6F
The two-time All-Star had scored nine points on of Indiana’s first 14 in the opening minutes of Game 7 before going down with the non-contact injury. He had to be helped off the court and did not return.
“He’ll be back,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters just after their season ended in a heartbreak. “I believe he’ll make a full recovery.”
[ALSO READ: Rick Carlisle confident Tyrese Haliburton will recover from suspected Achilles injury: 'He’ll be back in time']
Pacers veteran Pascal Siakam said the team was heartbroken, both from the loss and Haliburton’s injury.
“We just kept battling because we wanted to make Indiana proud,” Siakam said. “It’s hard to look forward into the future after you lose like this.”
Despite the setback, Haliburton remained with the team, cheering from the locker room and greeting teammates in the tunnel after the final buzzer.
“A lot of us were hurting from the loss and he was up there consoling us,” T.J. McConnell said. “That’s who Tyrese Haliburton is. He’s just the greatest.”
Indiana is expected to return most of its core next season, with nine of the team’s top 10 players under contract. Starting center Myles Turner is the lone exception as the big man is expected to enter free agency this upcoming offseason.
The Pacers still boast strong guard depth with McConnell and Andrew Nembhard, while Bennedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker are all expected to take on larger roles in Haliburton’s absence.
