The Indiana Pacers confirmed on Monday that their star guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right achilles tendon in Sunday night’s NBA finals Game 7 loss to Oklahoma City.
The All-NBA guard was helped off the court and immediately taken to the locker room in obvious pain during the first quarter. He was later officially diagnosed with the injury the next day.
“An MRI taken on Monday confirmed that Haliburton tore his right achilles tendon,” the Pacers said in a statement on Monday evening. “Surgery is scheduled later today with Dr Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.”
Haliburton’s injury recalled one suffered by Kevin Durant during the NBA finals in 2019. Like Durant, Haliburton was playing through another injury – in his case a calf strain – before tearing his achilles. But Haliburton said he would have made the same choice again.
“I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers,” Haliburton wrote on social media on Monday night. “For the chance to do something special.”
Durant missed the entire following season after his injury, and Haliburton may do the same. The typical recovery time for a basketball player with a torn achilles ranges from eight to 10 months.
Without Haliburton, the Pacers were outscored 56-43 in the second half on Sunday night as Oklahoma City won the championship with a 103-91 victory. Haliburton had hit several clutch shots as the Pacers made their remarkable – and unexpected – run to the finals.
“Don’t know how to explain it other than shock,” Haliburton wrote. “Words cannot express the pain of this letdown. The frustration is unfathomable. I’ve worked my whole life to get to this moment and this is how it ends? Makes no sense.
“Now that I’ve gotten surgery, I wish I could count the number of times people will tell me I’m going to ‘come back stronger’. What a cliche lol, this shit sucks. My foot feels like dead weight fam. But what’s hurting most I think is my mind. Feel like I’m rambling, but I know this is something I’ll look back on when I’m through this, as something I’m proud I fought through. It feels good to let this shit out without y’all seeing the kid ugly cry.”
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Two of Haliburton’s fellow All-Stars, Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, are currently recovering from torn achilles. They, too, suffered their injuries during this postseason.
“I don’t ‘have to’ go through this, I get to go through this,” Haliburton wrote. “I’m grateful for the road that lies ahead. Watch how I come back from this. So, give me some time, I’ll dust myself off and get right back to being the best version of Tyrese Haliburton.”
The 25-year-old averaged 18.6 points, 9.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 73 games (all starts) during the regular season. 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.
