As the Oklahoma City Thunder clinched the NBA 2024-25 finals by 4-3 at the expense of the Indiana Pacers, it wasn’t just heartbreak for the latter. Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers guard who copped a blow in Game 7, was confirmed to have an Achilles tear. The Surgery went successfully.
Ideally, a basketball player’s recovery time from a torn Achilles ranges from eight to ten months. However, the recovery period for any superstar until he hits rehab can be boring. After what was a pretty impressive season for Haliburton, the ending was more of a dampener. However, the Pacers guard has found quite an interesting pastime as he recovers.
Tyrese Haliburton Is Spending Quality Time With His Nintendo Switch 2
Tyrese 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 gamechanger for the Pacers until that injury happened.
As Haliburton continues to recuperate from the Achilles tear, he has found a new pastime as his latest Instagram story suggests. He posted a picture of his Nintendo Switch 2 and the message that he received alongside. The message read, “Tyrese, we hope you enjoy! Your friends at Nintendo.”
Alongside his Switch, he also shared a snap of the Mario Kart World game, which came as a package. The game was specifically designed for Switch 2 and was released on June 5, 2025. Haliburton captioned it, “Bouta go crazy. #NintendoSwitch2.” With his newfound friend, Haliburton looked happy while going through the grind of recuperation from what is an agonising injury.
A Glance at Haliburton’s Showdown in the NBA Finals
Tyrese Haliburton did put up quite a show in the NBA finals before the injury cost him and the Indiana Pacers dearly. In the first game of the finals, Haliburton smashed his debut buzzer-beater while launching 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. His clutch jumper with 0.3 seconds to go on the ticker secured a thrilling win for the Pacers.
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
Delivering his peak in Game 3, Haliburton notched 22 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Highlighting Haliburton’s performance, Rick Carlisle, Pacers head coach, said in the post-match interview, “Terrific. I thought his approach tonight was exactly what it needed to be: a combination of spatial awareness and aggression. And a real good feel for aggression to score, along with getting his teammates involved at the right times. He was terrific.”
With the injury concern, it would be worth watching how quickly Haliburton can return to the thick of things. However, the kind of player that he has been, if there is one thing that Haliburton has shown before, is that he will always bounce back. It is the duration of the turnaround that will bother the Indiana Pacers, as he might be out of action for the majority of the upcoming season.
