With the FIFA World Cup over and NBA free agency entering its third week, many await LeBron James’ decision.
James is taking his sweet time to pick his next team, but we do know one thing: the Indiana Pacers aren’t one of the teams he’s considering, as Tyrese Haliburton revealed.
Tyrese Haliburton Tried (and Failed) to Recruit LeBron James to Pacers
During his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Haliburton revealed the full details of his recruitment of James, which featured him texting the future Hall of Famer about joining the Pacers. James’ response made it pretty clear that he’s not coming to Indiana.
“LeBron being my teammate, it’s not looking good,” Haliburton said. “… I texted him before Fanatics Fest, and I said, ‘You should come be a Pacer,’ and he responded with six laughing-crying faces… You know when you have just one or two emojis, it becomes big, but when you send so many it goes back to normal size? It was six in a line.”
“LeBron James being my teammate isn’t looking good 😂😂
I thought it was two laughing emojis but it was six” @Hali #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/05vGWsOGx5
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 20, 2026
Haliburton and the Pacers are one year removed from a surprise run to the NBA Finals, where they were arguably a healthy version of the point guard from beating the Oklahoma City Thunder. Instead, he suffered a devastating Achilles tear in the most pivotal game of the entire 2024-25 season.
Haliburton is expected to be ready for the start of next season, and the Pacers still have most of their roster intact from that run. In fact, one can argue that Ivica Zubac is an upgrade over Myles Turner and that Kelly Oubre Jr. is a perfect replacement for Bennedict Mathurin.
Even so, James wants to make the most of what’s remaining of his playing days. Haliburton is a question mark because of his Achilles tear, even if Jayson Tatum looked mostly like his normal self when he came back for the Boston Celtics last season. With the limited time James has left, he’s not taking that chance.
The irony is that no matter who James joins, it’s likely to come with risks. The NBA has entered a new parity era, as we haven’t seen a team repeat since the Golden State Warriors did in 2018 (back when they were head and shoulders above everyone with Kevin Durant).
James wants another title before he calls it quits. He evidently believes the Pacers won’t give him the chance to contend (or perhaps he doesn’t want to live in Indiana).
He may be wrong about that if Haliburton looks like himself from the jump, but James prefers the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, or Golden State Warriors.
