Indiana Pacers superstar Tyrese Haliburton could miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season after having surgery on a torn right Achilles tendon.
The 25-year-old fell to the court without any contact as he attempted to drive to the basket seven minutes into the first quarter of the decisive game seven of the NBA Championship play-off finals at the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He was in obvious distress as he was helped from the court and missed the rest of the game, which his side lost 103-91 to end their hopes of a first NBA title.
The Pacers confirmed he would have surgery on Monday on the injury, which has a likely recovery time of eight to 10 months.
The two-time All Star is the third high-profile player to suffer a ruptured Achilles tendon in this season’s play-offs, following Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard.
The injury is similar to one that kept Kevin Durant out for a full season when he was hurt in the 2019 NBA Finals while playing for the Golden State Warriors.
Haliburton had played in Sunday’s decider despite suffering a calf strain in game five of the finals.
It followed an amazing run where he hit a tying or winning shot in the final seconds in all four rounds of the play-offs.
“I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers,” he posted on X after the surgery. “For the chance to do something special.
“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?”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle paid tribute to Haliburton after Sunday’s game.
“What happened with Tyrese, all of our hearts dropped,” he said. “But he will be back in time, and I believe he’ll make a full recovery.”