Game 7 of the NBA Finals was supposed to be a crowning moment for the Indiana Pacers’ young core led by Tyrese Haliburton. Instead, it turned tragic just minutes into the first quarter as Haliburton suffered an Achilles injury, and the Pacers eventually lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Haliburton, 25, now faces a long road to recovery after surgery and is undergoing a grueling rehab process. But that isn’t stopping him from smiling and pulling up to support the Pacers’ Summer League team.
Tyrese Haliburton Pulls Up in Massive Boot To Support Pacers’ Summer League Team
Haliburton was at the heart of the Pacers’ inspiring playoff run, and while they came into the NBA finals as underdogs, the All-Star guard kept coming clutch to stretch the series to seven games. Even more impressive was the fact that he had been playing through a right calf strain in the Finals.
But all of his championship dreams came crashing down in the first quarter of Game 7, and so did the Pacers, who surely would have been demotivated by his injury. He was quickly scheduled for surgery with Dr. Martin O’Malley at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery and has since been riding on a knee scooter.
Haliburton pulled up to the Pacers Summer League’ practice camp on the scooter and was spotted wearing a boot that came up to below the kneecap. The two-time All-Star was sitting on a chair, smiling while looking over to his teammates.
Tyrese Haliburton booted up while supporting Summer Pacers. pic.twitter.com/yL4ixXCF4l
— Tom Lewis (@IndyCornrows) July 4, 2025
Ideally, a basketball player’s recovery time from a torn Achilles ranges from eight to ten months, meaning Haliburton will miss nearly all of the first half of the 2025-26 season. However, he is gearing up to get back to his best as soon as possible and is channeling his inner Kobe Bryant amid the grueling rehab process.
Haliburton Invokes Kobe Bryant in Heartbreaking Post After Surgery
Shortly after undergoing a successful surgery, Haliburton took to X to share his thoughts over the heartbreaking end to his season. Sharing a picture of himself in a hospital bed, hands forming a heart, he wrote, “Man. Don’t know how to explain it other than shock. Words cannot express the pain of this letdown.”
He continued, “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’…. My foot feels like dead weight fam. But what’s hurting most I think is my mind.”
Man. Don’t know how to explain it other than shock. 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… pic.twitter.com/UyY0iFEp6Z
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) June 24, 2025
He ended his post by apologizing to the Indiana fanbase, invoking the resilience of the late NBA legend, and promising, “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.”
Haliburton concluded his 2024-25 season with a staggering 33.6 MPG from which he went on to drop 18.6 PPG. He was absolutely stunning in carving those assists, as his numbers read 9.2 APG and 3.5 RPG. With 1359 points, 673 assists, and 258 rebounds, Haliburton did prove to be a game-changer for the Pacers until that injury happened.